Chopped arm man 'recovering well'

Neighbour Mr Francis called 999 and found the severed limb

An East Sussex man who chopped off his arm with a chainsaw may be able to use his hand again, according to the doctors who reattached his limb.

John Stirling was chopping wood in his garden in Telscombe Cliffs when the accident happened on 29 September.

Surgeons at Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, West Sussex, carried out a 14-hour operation to save him.

His wife said the family had been through a horrendous experience, but he is now making a remarkable recovery.

Noreen Stirling said: "It's incredible, initially I just wanted him to survive and the arm was secondary, but now he's got his arm back on I can see it really will speed up his recovery and give him a good quality of life.

"He's a remarkable man and I am so proud of him. He's been brilliant all through this, he's been so brave."

He will be working with a team of therapists to get back movement Asit Khandwala Consultant hand surgeon

It is thought the chainsaw slipped, leaving Mr Stirling with his arm cut off below the elbow.

Mr Stirling knocked on the door of neighbour Steve Francis and told him he had cut his arm off.

Mr Francis then dialled 999, tied a belt around the arm and kept the rest of the limb in a bag of frozen pastry.

Consultant hand surgeon Asit Khandwala said: "It's going to take about two years for everything to settle down, the swelling in the arm, there's a pain problem which needs to settle down.

"He will be working with a team of therapists to get back movement and also there's a psychological aspect because they suffer nightmares, flashbacks, which gradually diminish with time."