Daily star, page 22

[wokka1976]

Just been shown this by a work colleague.., guy lost his arm whilst using a woodchipper... Glad he's ok.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

I wouldn't be ok if I'd just lost an arm!

[alex_m]

found the link

 

Daily Star: Simply The Best 7 Days A Week :: News :: Pals help save Shaun’s life

 

A COUNCIL gardener had his arm chopped off when he was dragged into a wood-chipper at work.

 

Shaun Talbot lost his left arm after slipping as he fed hedge trimmings into the machine.

 

 

He was airlifted to hospital in Middlesbrough, but doctors could not save his arm.

 

 

Shaun, 24, is now recovering at home in Ferryhill, Co Durham. He said: “I knew straight away that I’d lost my arm past the elbow. It was just a case of jamming my head and back against the chute and hoping my neck did not give way to stop it getting worse.

 

 

“I stayed conscious and calm. It felt like I was waiting all day for the emergency services but really it was just minutes.”

 

 

Shaun paid tribute to his colleagues and emergency personnel. He said: “I was telling the lads to put the chipper in reverse to get me out. It took all their willpower not to do what I was asking, which would have been the worst thing.

 

“I will be forever grateful to my workmates and the crews that helped save me, especially the air ambulance.

 

 

“It was a freak accident and I just have to get on with my life now.”

 

 

Shaun was one of three Durham County Council workmen tidying hedges in Spennymoor when the accident happened.

 

A MAN on a rubber ring being towed by a jet-ski had his hand cut off as he was dragged along.

 

 

The 45-year-old victim, from Ivybridge, Devon, got his arm caught in the tow rope in the incident off Torquay harbour in Devon.

 

 

[Mike]

More

 

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/4573692.Gardener_relives_arm_loss_horror/

 

The bit about not being able to reach the stop button/bar gets me. What type of chipper was it. Can't be a bottom bar machine. I would suspect top bar chipper and he lent in under the bar!!!! I know people see bottom bars as a pain but my guess is that this guy would still have an arm if he was using this type of chipper.

[Stephen Blair]

scary stuff, poor guy.

[tommer9]

Horrific. Poor bloke.

[alex_m]

he seems quite calm about it all.

 

“It was a freak accident and I just have to get on with my life now.”

 

 

big payout i hope. (no doubt it'll be a fraction of what council/gov PA's get for straining one of their fingers through typing on a keyboard)

[Mr Ed]

Be interesting to see the HSE investigative report on this one.

[Bald Ed]

I wish him all the best, an accident like this must take some getting over.

 

Surely the payout will depend on who's found to be at fault, will he stand to get anything if the chipper is found to be in a safe operating condition? Theoretically speaking, if the operator has been trained but is found to have not been working to industry best practice will he be eligable for anything? I do not know how these things work!

[David Riding]

If he did trip then fair enough. But the first thing I thought about was the fact he was feeding hedge trimmings, we all get are hands to close to the rollers when pushing in trimmings and twigs when that nice 1 meter push stick has been chipped. Either way I hope he gets over it soon.

Edited September 2, 2009 by David Riding