Mystery of missing finger solved

Eircom worker Billy Negal points to where the finger was found

A 17-year-old English tourist who claimed his finger was ripped off in a St Patrick's Day attack had it severed while climbing a fence, it has emerged.

Guy Wallace had been out drinking in Dublin. He alleged a group of youths asked him where he was from, then attacked him because he was English.

However, police found CCTV footage showing the boy trying to climb a serrated metal fence before falling.

The severed finger was found a week later on top of the 8ft fence.

An extensive search for the keen pianist's missing finger was launched on O'Connell Street at the time.

In reality, it seems that during his panic-stricken run from the incident he attempted to climb a metal fence, which resulted in the loss of his finger Family statement

Detectives used CCTV footage to trace Guy's movements after an altercation at a fast-food restaurant to nearby Britain Place, where he fell from the fence outside Eircom headquarters.

His parents, William and Lucy Wallace, said in a statement that their son genuinely believed he lost his finger in an assault.

They said he was headbutted minutes earlier and was traumatised enough to link the event with the accident.

"However, in reality it seems that during his panic-stricken run from the incident he attempted to climb a metal fence, which resulted in the loss of his finger," they said.

The A-level student has since returned to Somerset, and has undergone skin grafts on his hand.

Following the finger discovery, a police spokesman said "investigations are continuing regarding a minor assault which took place earlier in the O'Connell Street area".