LONDON — A British butcher who got locked in a freezer says he was saved by a frozen sausage that he used as a battering ram.

Chris McCabe says he became trapped in the walk-in freezer at his shop in Totnes, southwest England, last month when wind blew the door shut. The safety button to open the door had frozen in the -20 C chill.

McCabe said he tried unsuccessfully to kick the button free before picking up a 1.5 kilogram black pudding, a form of blood sausage.

McCabe told website Devon Live that he used the meaty tube “like a battering ram” and managed to unstick the button after several blows.

The grateful butcher told the Daily Mirror: “Black pudding saved my life, without a doubt.”