A YOUNG man's hand which was 'degloved' in a barbaric machine accident has been saved thanks to decades old technique.

Anthony Seward was just 21 years old when his left hand got caught in an unprotected factory machine.

"The accident was pretty painful, though it was probably more painful seeing Chelsea lose in the football this season," the lad from Tiverton, Devon said.

Anthony, now 27, feared he would never be able to return to his much-loved career as a fireman.

But doctors saved the limb by sewing it inside his stomach – creating a 'pocket' which kept it alive for three weeks.

Now, six years later, Anthony is back doing what he loves most as an on-call firefighter, after multiple surgeries saved the grip strength in his injured hand.

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Anthony, who originally joined the service in 2015, had to have the tips of four of his fingers amputated after the accident.

Surgeons saved the rest of his hand using a World War One-era technique of storing his smashed hand inside his abdomen to help it heal.

Amazingly he narrowly passed the minimum-expected grip tests to return to the job while studying a strength and conditioning course at the University of Birmingham.

He had decided to study to move into the sports sector – hoping to work with a sports team to regain the lost camaraderie he had experienced in the fire service.

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But as part of his course during a test last September he realised that he was able to meet the minimum grip strength to rejoin the fire service.

"I suddenly realised that it might I had been able to do deadlifts and pull ups, grip strength was one of the last real physical barriers.

"Eventually I asked to be re-admitted, and passed the tests – it was quite surreal," he said.

He added: "Once I got back in they were really helpful to make sure I was practical and operational. I really wanted to be a help, not a hinderance.

"Now it's just back to work.''

Anthony credits the 'amazing' work of the NHS, paramedics and air ambulance for his recovery.

He added: "I wouldn't be in this position without the NHS, without the work that my surgeons did initially, the air ambulance and the ambulance service as well.

The procedure carried out at Southmead hospital in Bristol allowed the skin to heal and ensured they could keep a blood supply to the hand.

It was then separated from the abdomen and the skin was folded over to cover the entire hand.

Anthony has now had two operations to separate his fingers so he can move them independently.

The procedure was first described by doctors in 1900, and was used regularly during the Second World War to treat injured servicemen.

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In recent years the operation has been used on soldiers injured in Afghanistan.

Anthony's former employers were fined £300,000 after admitting health and safety offences when they failed to replace a broken safety barrier on the mangle.

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