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Dover girl Ella Birchenough stuck in drain trying to retrieve iPhone given new mobile on ITV Daybreak

11:42, 04 April 2014

A schoolgirl who got stuck in a Dover drain while trying to retrieve her iPhone has been given a new one today... after promising "not to do anything so daft again".

Ella Birchenough, 16, became an internet sensation yesterday after being pictured stranded after squeezing down the narrow gap to grab her mobile with her feet.

Desperate to retrieve her two-week-old iPhone 5s when it slipped from her hand as she chatted to a friend, she pulled up the three-stone cover and jumped in.

Teenager Ella Birchenough is pulled from the drain in Dover
Teenager Ella Birchenough is pulled from the drain in Dover

But the she found herself stuck and firefighters were called to rescue her from the tight spot in Eaves Road on Wednesday night.

Now Ella has been given a new iPhone in an interview on ITV's Daybreak today.

Presenter Kate Garraway, who hosted the show with Aled Jones, gave her the gadget after making her promise "not to do anything so daft again".

Ella Birchenough appeared on Daybreak this morning. Picture: ITV/Daybreak
Ella Birchenough appeared on Daybreak this morning. Picture: ITV/Daybreak

Ella explained how she called to a passerby and asked her to alert her mother Joanne at their home nearby.

Joanne, 36, dashed to the scene and then dialled 999 and three firefighters turned up to gently pull the red-faced schoolgirl free.

Ella, a GCSE student at Astor College for the Arts, told the ITV show: ''I could reach the floor of the drain, so when I got pulled out I went back in. "Nobody said don't do it, they were just looking at me as though I was nuts."

Daybreak presenter Kate Garraway, pictured with co-host Aled Jones, presents Ella Birchenough with a new iPhone. Picture: ITV/Daybreak
Daybreak presenter Kate Garraway, pictured with co-host Aled Jones, presents Ella Birchenough with a new iPhone. Picture: ITV/Daybreak

She explained the original picture of her stuck down the drain - which went viral - was taken by her mother after she posted it on Facebook.

"I dropped the iPhone down the drain, and tried reaching for it, but couldn't get it," she said. "In the end, I couldn't pull myself out.

"She rounded the corner as white as a sheet, and then started laughing and took a photo."

The dramatic rescue of Ella Birchenough in Dover
The dramatic rescue of Ella Birchenough in Dover

Her mother later joked that she will be bringing out the pictures of her daughter in the drain on her 18th birthday and wedding day.

Joanne, a taxi operator with Dover Royal Taxis, who also has an eight-year-old son Ben, said: "I was really worried.

"My face went white and I was in a panic. I was scared she might sink.

"I ran out the house, turned the corner - but as soon as I saw her I burst out laughing."

All smiles... Ella Birchenough after her rescue by firefighters. Picture: SWNS
All smiles... Ella Birchenough after her rescue by firefighters. Picture: SWNS

She added: "I thought 'we are never going to get her out of there' so I called the fire service who got there pretty quickly."

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