A five-year-old girl nearly suffocated after climbing inside a FRIDGE while her mother was talking with a shop assistant.

The girl was with her mum at a store in Lopburi, central Thailand, when she playfully wandered over to the device and opened the door.

CCTV footage from last Friday (03/05) shows the young child, who was not named, stopped in front of the unused fridge and went inside to hide.

The fridge door suddenly shut while the girl was still standing inside. She was trapped for about 30 seconds as the door could not be opened from the inside.

The mother, who was distracted while talking to a customer, noticed the youngster was missing and ran over to look for her.

Luckily she heard the little girl calling for help and quickly opened the door to free her.

Shop owner Khun Surachai said that he was away at the time of the incident but warned other parents to be careful with their children.

He said he was not sure if the child intentionally walked and hid inside the fridge or not, but it was very dangerous for children to do so.

He said: “I don’t want to imagine what would happen if she stayed there longer or her mother couldn’t find her. She could really be suffocated.

“Parents should take very good care of their children, especially little ones, and never let them stay out of your sight because accidents might happen at any moment.

‘’I think the little girl was being curious and wanted to play but it was dangerous.’’