Man cut off arm in DIY accident then calmly picked it up and went for help

A DIY fan who cut off his arm in an horrific accident picked up his severed limb and calmly went to get help. Stuart Frain was chopping wood in his garden using a circular saw when the blade hacked through his left arm below the elbow.

The retired fireman calmly picked up his severed arm – which was hanging on by the skin – and went hundreds of yards to get help. With blood pouring from his wound, he raced down the road and crossed a nearby canal before flagging down a passing cyclist and another man who was walking his dog.



The two men were joined by Stuart’s friend Stephen Leonard, who was also walking his dog. Stuart used his training to tell them how to stem the flow of blood, using one of the dog leads as a tourniquet. Stuart, 50, from Smithy Bridge, Rochdale, then collapsed. The grandfather-of-one was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital by ambulance and transferred to Wythenshawe.

Ice was packed around the arm before he spent seven hours in theatre as surgeons battled to reattach his limb. Amazingly they managed to stitch it back on. But doctors do not know yet if he will fully regain the use of his arm – or if his body will reject it. He said doctors told him he was just seconds from death.