Roofer had to cut his boot off after he shot a nail through his toe

The nail went straight through Rob Owen’s boot and his toe (Picture: SWNS)

WARNING: This article contains images you may find distressing

A roofer was forced to cut off his own boot with a Stanley knife after he shot a nail all the way through his toe and out the other side with a nail gun.

Rob Owen, 36, had to climb down 20ft scaffolding with the nail in his foot after he accidentally tapped the tip of his nail gun on his boot.

It happened after tripped and triggered the tool to fire a 2.5 inch long, quarter-inch thick nail through his left big toe while he did construction work on September 7.

The dad-of-two from Stockport in Greater Manchester leant on the gun as he bent to save himself from falling and the spring-loaded tip hit the steel toe-cap of his boot.

Mr Owens, who was on the second floor when this happened, had to climb down to the ground and go to the hospital where he was seen by medics who told him they couldn’t perform an X-ray due to his metal tipped boot.

After waiting for five hours, Rob decided to grab the Stanley knife from his pocket, and cut his boot, to reveal his toe pinned to the sole of his boot.

Rob Owen’s foot with the nail in it before he was forced to take it out himself because the doctors couldn’t (Picture: Rob Owen/SWNS)

Rob Owen with his daughter Heidi (Picture: Rob Owen/SWNS)

The nail went through the bone (Picture: Rob Owen/SWNS)

Rob cut his boot with a Stanley knife after he shot the nail all the way through his toe (Picture: Rob Owen/SWNS)

Doctors had to push the nail through his foot as they couldn’t pull it back out due to the rivets (Picture: Rob Owen/SWNS)

Doctors couldn’t pull the nail out because of rivets along the nail, so they had to cut the head off and push it through the bottom of Rob’s foot.

Rob said: ‘The adrenalin was really pumping. It all happened so quickly- in a split second.’

‘I didn’t realise at first, then I saw the nail sticking out the top of my boot. I’m just so lucky.

‘It was a clean hole right through the bone in my toe, so there was no bleeding.

‘Otherwise I could have bled to death in my boot.

‘It was almost comical seeing this boot sole pinned to my foot, like something out of a joke shop.

‘It will be a great story to tell, especially if I start limping when I’m 50.’

Rob, a roofer from age 18, screamed when he shot himself which alerted a colleague who drove him five miles to Wythenshawe hospital in Manchester.

He had to take five weeks off work and said: ‘I’ll be more cautious when I’m using a nail gun now. If one was to hit you in the head you’d be dead.’

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from News – Metro https://ift.tt/3HoP1u5