THE mother of a boy who had to be rescued after being stuck underground in a 10ft deep pipe says he may have been trying to retrieve his belt.
Arron Walsh, 9, was trapped in the 12-inch wide shaft close to his home in Llandyrnog last Tuesday night.
He was eventually freed by firemen after neighbour Hilary Wilcox heard the Ysgol Bryn Clwyd youngster's cries.
This week Arron's mum, Karen Walsh, 35, of Maes Clwyd, said her son had said little about the incident after being 'dead quiet' following his rescue.
“He was on his own, I don't know why he was there and what he was doing … he says he went down (the pipe) to get his belt which is still down the hole,” said Karen who 'hadn't got a clue' how long Arron was trapped in the pipe which protruded about three feet above the ground on land next to Parc Tyn Llan estate
The youngster went with his eldest sister Katie, 15, to the village's Cae Nant park after returning home with his mum and two other sisters, Chantelle, 12, and Emily, 8, from the girls' ballet class in Denbigh at 7pm on Tuesday.
On his way home alone, Arron got stuck feet first underground in the pipe before his cries were heard by Hilary Wilcox whose partner Merfyn Parry tried to pull the boy free with a rope while she alerted Karen.
Merfyn said: “We found him trapped at the bottom of the pipe, he was at least three metres down.
“He was very distressed down there and the first thing we tried to do was calm him down.
“We put a rope down there so that he could grip it and get pulled out but it was such a tight space that I think his arms just couldn’t grab it.
A distressed Karen watched for 20 minutes before Arron was freed by firemen from Denbigh and Wrexham who cut the pipe off at ground level and hauled the youngster to safety at about 9.41pm.
“He was okay but when he got out he gave me a big hug and I haven't stopped hugging him since,” said Karen.
She added: “He had some bruises on the arm and shoulders and apart from that, he is fine.
"I think he is wondering what all the fuss is about.
"I think he wants it all to go away.”
To take the youngster's mind off the traumatic experience, Karen, who lived in Corwen before moving to Llandyrnog in 2001, and her mother took Arron to an ice cream factory near Chester the following day.
The normally lively, noisy child, who likes football, went back to school last Thursday.