Newlywed’s finger ripped off as wedding ring gets caught on fence

A newlywed's finger was ripped off – leaving the bone sticking out – when his wedding ring got caught on a fence just three months after tying the knot.

Paul Biggs – who survived wars in Afghanistan and Iraq without injury – says he didn't realise he had suffered a gruesome injury until he saw his severed ring finger on top of the 6ft 6ins fence he had just jumped over.

After ripping away the skin, nail and top of his finger, Paul, 33, put the finger in an empty Mr Kipling Angel Slice plastic cake box and drove himself to hospital.

Doctors were unable to reattach the tip and instead cut off the protruding bone, leaving him with just a 1cm stump on his left hand – and some explaining to do to new wife Leonie Biggs, 32.

He said he is unable to wear his wedding ring several weeks on, and he gets a "phantom feeling" in his finger that isn't there.

WARNING – GRAPHIC IMAGES

The dad-of-four claims it was the first time he had taken his ring off since getting married on December 24 – but found himself as the butt of jokes from pals who teased it gave him an excuse not to wear it.

The former infantryman, who is now jokingly dubbed "Homer Simpson" by pals, faces getting a tattoo or wearing his badly bent wedding ring on his right hand after the accident on March 31.

Paul, from Runcorn in Cheshire, said: "I was in the army so I've been to Iraq, I've been to Afghanistan and come back without being shot or injured.

"Now I've come back to work in the UK and I've lost my finger in a stupid accident. The irony of it is hilarious.

"My wife wasn't happy when she saw it. It was mixed emotions for her – she was upset that I had done it and sorry that it was that finger as well.

"I think she was a bit more upset [because it was my wedding ring] as well.

"My wife is probably worse about it than myself. It's hard for her because we are newly married.

"I've only got a little bit of my finger left. I can't wear my wedding ring now. That's the only thing that has upset me because I never took it off – not even for doing the dishes."

He added: "My friends have all been making the same joke about me not wanting to wear the ring, to which I reply I've never taken it off.

"I've been called Homer Simpson a lot, and also been given some discount on some purchases due to a 'four finger discount'.

"I found the wedding ring but it's all bent. I won't be climbing over any more fences.

"I might get a tattoo instead. If I can get a tattoo around the base of my finger that would be great. I don't want to wear the ring on my opposite finger but if I need to then I will."

Paul claims he had been forced to climb the tall fence to pick up a parcel from a friend who hadn't been around to let him in through the gate.

He hadn't realised his ring had gotten trapped at the top of the fence – and only realised it had torn off part of his finger when he jumped down and saw the blood dripping down his arm.

Now waiting for his former finger to heal, the dad still gets sensations as if his fingertip was still there.

Paul, who now works as an accounts manager, said: "I was climbing over a fence to get a parcel from a friend's business close to us.

"The gate was locked so I climbed over the fence to get in, got my stuff and then went to climb back over the fence.

"As soon as I turned around and jumped down from the fence, my ring got caught at the top and ripped off all my skin. I saw the blood on the floor first and it was dripping down my arm.

"I didn't even realise I had done it at first, until I looked up and realised my finger was still on top.

"[The doctors] called it degloving. I degloved my finger. It's like when you take off a glove – that's what happened with my skin. It's all been ripped away.

"Everything was still on top of the fence – my finger, my nail, all of that. It was just sitting there on top of the fence, it was weird."

He said it was "really painful" at the time and still is.

He added: "I took one picture when I was in the car too which I sent to boss.

"I needed to get my finger in something sterile or clean and all I had in the car was a Mr Kipling angel slice container.

"I took the cake out, wiped inside the plastic bit just to get it all nice and sterile and then put my finger inside.

"I didn't have anything to cover my finger on my hand when I was driving to hospital.

"They couldn't do anything with it anyway so they told me that I was going to lose my finger.

"They trimmed it all down. They told me I had good bone density anyway, but I told them there was no good telling me that now that you've taken my finger off but it's nice to know I have good bones.

"It's a bit weird to be honest because I keep getting a feeling in my finger that isn't there. It's like a phantom feeling.

"I get pins and needles, and a weird vibration thing in the top of my finger. I can feel that in my finger still, and it's not there. It is strange."

Read More

Top news stories from Mirror Online

Source: Read Full Article