Cheeky six-year-old Oliver Harris is used to playing the class clown and, according to his mother, is “always trying to make people laugh”.

But when the bubbly primary school pupil accidentally got a bucket stuck on his head while acting up for friends in the playground, his joke went beyond the pale.

Firefighters were called to Ladbrooke JMI School on Monday when the unfortunate prankster managed get the handle of the metal play bucket wedged under his chin.

Staff were unable to prize the unusual headwear off the practical joker and were forced to call in firefighters from the Mutton Lane station to cut him free.

Headteacher Tracey Webster phoned Oliver’s mother, Angela, who arrived at the Watkins Rise school to comfort the little rascal.

Mrs Harris, of Chase Avenue, admitted she and her husband Justin had to laugh when they heard about their cheeky son’s unfortunate situation.

The 37-year-old said: “He’s always clowning around so, although we were quite shocked, we weren’t surprised.

“He was pretending to be a Power Ranger and make his friends laugh. If anyone was going to do that, it would be Oliver.

“It was an interesting one for the teachers to have to deal with. We were worried but the headteacher is wonderful and the staff are lovely. When we heard they had to call the fire brigade, we thought it was hilarious. It was typical Oliver.”

Teachers first tried to cut the yellow bucket off but decided to dial 999 so they did not cause the little tyke any distress.

A single crew was sent to what one firefighter described as one of the most unusual call outs he has received.

A fire station representative said: “It was a bit of a strange one – not your normal everyday call out, bless him.

“He was very distressed at the thought of it being stuck on his head for a long time but otherwise he was fine.”

The only lasting impact for Oliver is his new nickname, coined by his friends – “bucket head”.

Mother-of-two Mrs Harris says the bubbly primary school pupil is back to his old tricks, playing up for his twin sister Evie and his friends.

She added: “He’s loving the attention. He wants to be a comedian – he’s always making up jokes and dressing up for fun. It drives his sister mad because she’s not like that at all.

“He’s always trying to make people laugh. We’ll be saving this to print off for him on his 18th birthday - we won’t let him forget it.”