A woman in the US who accidentally dropped her mobile phone into the hole of a pit toilet and fell in while trying to retrieve it had to be rescued by firefighters.

Brinnon Fire Department chief Tim Manly said the woman, who was at the top of Mount Walker, north-west of Seattle in Washington state, had been using her phone when it fell into the toilet, The Kitsap Sun reported.

Mr Manly said she disassembled the toilet seat and used dog leashes to try to get the phone and eventually used the leashes to tie herself off as she reached for it.

That effort failed and she fell into the toilet headfirst.

“They didn’t work very well and in she went,” Mr Manly said.

The woman was alone and tried to get out for 10-15 minutes.

Reunited with her phone, she called 911, Mr Manly said.

Responding firefighters passed her blocks to stand on to reach a harness, which they used to pull her out of the vault.

The Brinnon Fire Department said the woman said she was uninjured.

She was washed down and “strongly encouraged to seek medical attention after being exposed to human waste, but she only wanted to leave”, the department said.

“I’ve been doing this for 40 years and that was a first,” Mr Manly said.