NEWMARKET, New Zealand, July 12 (UPI) -- An employee at a Subway sandwich shop in New Zealand was locked in a back room for about two hours before being rescued by customers.
Amandeep Singh said he heard the worker shouting for help immediately when he entered the Subway eatery in Newmarket about 9:45 p.m. Sunday.
Singh said the shouts were coming from behind the door at the back of the shop.
"Then I realized there was something going on and she said, 'I'm locked in the freezer -- can you come and help me?'" Singh told the New Zealand Herald.
Singh retrieved his wife, Rezi, who was waiting outside. The woman was able to hop over the counter and open the door -- which a Subway spokesman said actually led to a bathroom area, not the freezer -- while her husband filmed.
Singh said he recorded the rescue to protect his wife against potential trespassing or shoplifting accusations.
"I decided to record the video just in case it was not a fake call, or if Subway people accuse us of entering the premises," he told TVNZ.
The video shows the grateful and shivering employee emerging from the door and embracing Rezi Singh.
"She was very, very frightened. She was out of her mind. She was saying, 'you guys are angels,'" Singh said.
Subway said the employee was expected to return to work Wednesday. The company defended the decision to have only one worker at the store at the time of the incident.
"We base our staffing based on the sales. Being an adult and fully qualified, we are able to have one person on just like an other convenience store or small business which needs to manage its costs," spokesman Ben Miles said.
Miles said the worker didn't have her cellphone with her when she became locked in the bathroom area. "I think she's been a bit embarrassed about the whole thing," he said.
