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(Image: CEN)

A jobless Austrian man who risked his life by hacking off his own foot so he could continue to claim unemployment benefits may still be forced to work.

Hans Url, from Feldbach, took extreme action when job centre staff threatened to force him to undergo a medical if he failed to accept the work they found for him.

To prove he was too sick to work, the 56-year-old sawed off his left foot above the ankle and threw it into an oven so it could not be reattached.

Police spokesman Franz Fasching said: "The planning was meticulous.

"He waited until his wife and his adult son had left the house and he was alone.

"He then mounted the mitre saw on two stools in his boiler room under his home, tying it with a cable in place and he then deliberately removed the safety guard plate.

"He then switched it on and sliced off his left foot above the ankle - throwing it in the fire so it would not be possible to reattach it before he called emergency services.

"He then made his way to the garage where he called emergency services and waited for them to arrive."

Url was airlifted to hospital in Graz but almost died on the way after losing so much blood and had to be put into an artificial coma.

He was said to be in a stable condition after emergency surgery to seal the wound.

A hospital spokesman added: "The foot was too badly burned to reattach. All we could do was seal the wound."

The police spokesman Fasching added that they were investigating the case as an attempted suicide.

But, even after his extreme attempt to avoid work, a Feldbach AMS job centre spokesman confirmed he may still be found work.

Hermann Gössinger said: "This is a tragic case but it will not help the man. His latest excuse had been a bad back which is why he had been sent for a medical.

"But even now losing a foot does not automatically mean he will not be able to work.

"He will be assessed once he is out of hospital and we will see what work we can find for him."