Toddler freed from Melbourne drain

Rescuers have used jackhammers and hydraulic equipment to free a two-year-old boy from a Melbourne drain.

The toddler was playing in the backyard of his family's Blackburn home about 6pm when one of his legs became lodged in the small concrete drain, restricting him up to his hip.

A Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokeswoman said rescue operators spent an hour chipping away at the drain with specialist equipment before the boy's leg was freed.

Ambulance officers sedated the toddler during the incident and he was taken to hospital for observation.