[Ammi]

An Australian man put police officers in a spin when they had to free him from a washing machine after a game of hide and seek went wrong.

The man from Mooropna, north of Melbourne, became stuck in the top-loading machine as he tried to use it as an elaborate hiding place.

It took 20 minutes to free the man, with rescuers using olive oil to ease him out.

Sergeant Tim Gleeson said the man had climbed into it naked while waiting for his partner to come home on Saturday afternoon.

"He was trying to surprise his missus and became stuck," Sgt Gleeson told News Corp Australia.

"They greased him up until he was free."

Other emergency services including firefighters, paramedics, and even a local search and rescue squad were also involved in the operation.

Shepparton Police Sergeant Michelle De Araugo told the Shepparton News: "He was very well wedged in there and we were concerned for his health and wellbeing.

"It was just a game gone wrong. It would be fair to say the gentleman was very embarrassed."

The man's ordeal came just days after an 11-year-old girl in Utah in the United States became stuck in a washing machine.

She was stuck for 90 minutes as her sister and cousins tried to free her using butter, peanut butter and ice. Fire fighters freed her unharmed apart from a few bruises.