Sydney  - An Australian teenager who went to sleep in a skip woke up to find himself inside a rubbish truck with its compacter jaws about to crush him to death.

The 19-year-old escaped with just cuts, bruising and broken ribs when the driver, who had emptied the skip containing industrial waste into his truck, shut off the compactor's hydraulics.

A friend, who was also sleeping in the skip, was uninjured in the early morning incident.

Paramedic Andrew Winkler, who treated the Melbourne pair, described in a statement issued by Ambulance Victoria just how lucky they were.

"Both were thrown into the back of the garbage truck, and the 19-year-old became caught in the mechanical compacter," the statement said. "Thankfully the truck driver heard their screams, and checked the back of the truck. He found the man trapped in the compacter and was able to free him." (dpa)