A Cambridge academic says she feared for her life after being trapped in the bathroom of a medieval tower for seven hours before she managed to escape.
Dr Krisztina Ilko, used an eyeliner and a cotton bud to pick the locks of the heavy wooden bathroom door found in her Queens’ College room, once occupied by 16th Century philosopher Desiderius Erasmus.
The 33-year-old feared she would be trapped for days after being unable to release the door’s lock, leaving her imprisoned in the historic tower’s windowless room on Thursday.
The rooms would not be cleaned until Monday, meaning the junior researcher faced more than 100 hours inside the bathroom without any food or her mobile phone.
Dr Ilko revealed how she tried to bang the shower head on the door to break it open and desperately shouted for help before turning to the two everyday items to assist in her escape.
Dr Krisztina Ilko, used an eyeliner and a cotton bud to pick the locks of the heavy wooden bathroom door of the Queens’ College rooms
The 33-year-old feared she would be trapped for days after becoming imprisoned in the historic tower’s windowless room on Thursday
Dr Ilko revealed how she tried to bang the shower head on the door to break it open and shouted for help before turning to the two everyday items to help save her
She told the Telegraph: ‘I was trying to remember how long a person can survive on just water and hoping that I wouldn’t die there.
‘If people came looking for me would they check the bathroom, or would I have to wait for Monday?
‘I tried to bang the shower head on the door, break it with brute force, and shout for help but nothing worked and no one could hear me.’
Having bruised her shoulder from the failed attempts to break the door down, Dr Ilko poked the eyeliner pencil through the keyhole to push down the latch on the other side and then used the cotton bud as a hook to free herself.
She revealed she is a fan of the fictional problem-solver MacGyver, which inspired her to use the two items to help her in her escape.
She added: ‘I was really happy and also quite proud that I could use my wit to get out. I felt relief, absolutely.
‘Sometimes when I hear sounds around here I joke that it is the ghost of Erasmus, then I thought I was going to join him and become a Cambridge legend.’
The university academic believes the latch of the door had been broken by a plumber working on her shower earlier that week.
The college has since removed the lock from the bathroom door.
Queens’ College has been approached for a comment.