A joiner who accidentally cut his own thumb off in a workplace accident has expressed his gratitude to a Swansea Bay surgeon who stopped him from losing it for good after a "race against time." Arwel Davies spent 10 minutes looking for the severed digit before taking it to the hospital with him - even though that meant walking through the doors carrying a circular saw.
The 42-year-old, from Llansadwrn in Carmarthenshire eventually found his missing thumb jammed inside a safety guard. Explaining the reaction many had as he walked in, he said: "I had some funny looks when I walked in – they probably thought I was going to kick off but as soon as I told the receptionist my thumb was inside, it was fine. They took the thumb out, put it in a bag and sent me for surgery.”
The accident happened while Mr Davies was working outside a customer’s house in Llandeilo on September 1. He explained he was using the saw to cut some wood clamped to a bench, a task he had performed countless times before, when it came off the clamps and disaster struck. Get stories like this straight to your inbox with our newsletters.
