Fifty Shades of Grey: Bedroom Sex Games Gone Wrong Sparks Rise in Kinky 999 Calls in UK

The effect the book Fifty Shades of Grey has given to some people, not to mention into their sex lives, has had a profound one. The book and its author E. L. James has received their fair share of thank yous, with some of the readers noting it opened new doors for them to explore. But this exploration apparently has gotten haywire at most. On Monday, the London Fire Brigade disclosed that of the 999 emergency calls it received, some were bedroom sex games gone wrong.

Over the past three years, the fire brigade said it had attended 79 incidents in which people had become stuck in handcuffs. There were also nine reported incidents of men getting their penises stuck with rings, including one who stuck his private part in a vacuum cleaner, and another man with his penis getting stuck in a toaster.

"I don't know whether it's the Fifty Shades effect, but the number of incidents involving items like handcuffs seems to have gone up," Dave Brown, London Fire Brigade's third officer, said. "I'm sure most people will be fifty shades of red by the time our crews arrive to free them."

For those using restrains such as handcuffs to spice up their bedroom sex game, the trick is to "keep the keys to hand" if you wish to avert any 999 call later after the libido has waned and mental order has began to sink in.

"Some of the incidents our firefighters are called out could be prevented with a little common sense," Mr Brown said.

But more than dealing with embarrassed couples whose private parts have been unwittingly placed or caught somewhere else other than where it should be, Mr Brown reiterated that attending to such situations deviates the purpose of 999.

"When firefighters are out attending to some of these avoidable incidents, someone else could be in real need of emergency assistance."

Since 2010, the London Fire Brigade has attended to more than 1,300 incidents involving people getting stuck or trapped, usually in everyday household items.

Crews attended 416 incidents in 2010/11, 441 incidents in 2011/12, and 453 incidents in 2012/13. A total of 307 people were injured as a result.

The brigade said people getting into a jam with rings, bracelets and watches are a usual occurrence. Firefighters are likewise regularly called to free people and children whose fingers have been trapped in electrical items like washing machines, sewing machines and heaters.

In a nutshell, the London Fire Brigade issued the following tips for 'Fifty Shades of Grey' enthusiasts out to explore their sexuality and kinkiness to make their bedroom sex games more alive and rolling:

1. Keep common sense intact. If it doesn't look safe, it probably isn't, so don't do it.
2. When using handcuffs, always keep the keys handy.
3. Fingers and electrical appliances don't mix, especially those with blades.