When DIY goes bad: Builder stuck to a floorboard for four hours after slipping and firing a five-inch nail through his HAND

Alan Williams was home alone and unable to move to get help

He was found shivering and going into shock by his partner



Firefighters had to lift off the whole floorboard to take him to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery

When men attempt a spot of DIY around the house, it can often go disastrously wrong.

But rarely does it go quite as badly as it did for builder Alan Williams.

The 46-year-old was at his home in Market Drayton, Shropshire, when he slipped at the top of the stairs and accidentally fired a five-inch nail through his left hand.

Gruesome: Alan Williams was doing some DIY at his home when he slipped at the top of the stairs and accidentally fired a five-inch nail through his left hand. This picture was taken when Mr Williams was at hospital being treated for his injury

Grim: Mr Williams was left nailed to the floor for nearly four hours unable to move or get help until his partner got home from work. This image shows him in hospital with the floorboard still attached to him

Mr Williams was left nailed to the floor for nearly four hours unable to move or get help.

It was only when his partner and staff nurse Suzanne Amos got home from work at around 11pm that he was found - shivering and going into shock.

Miss Amos had been expecting a cup of tea and her dinner after finishing her shift but instead found herself dialling 999 to get help.

Mr Williams said: 'I slipped at the top of the stairs and put my left hand down, and then the nail gun in my right hand went onto it - bang.

'I was pinned to the floor, I couldn’t move, but actually there wasn’t much blood and I wasn’t in pain.

'After three hours though my leg was starting to go numb and I was very cold, I was grateful when Suzanne walked through the door.'

Lucky: Incredibly, the high-powered bolt went right through Mr Williams' hand but missed vital tendons and veins. He is pictured here next to the floorboard which he became attached too

As these pictures show, the high-powered bolt had gone right through Mr Williams' hand but amazingly it missed vital tendons and veins.

The fire brigade had to lift off the whole floorboard to take him to the City General hospital in Newcastle-Under-Lyme.



After just one hour in theatre, Mr Williams was freed from the nail.

He said: 'The fire chief said he hadn’t seen anything like it in 40 years, I ended up having to go to hospital with a floorboard attached to my hand.

'When I got to hospital the doctors weren’t sure if they should push or pull it out, I had to go into theatre for an hour for them to remove the nail.

'The doctors said I was very lucky I hadn’t hit a nerve or any of the circulatory system.'



Miss Amos - who admits the DIY to the couple’s home was her idea - said: 'He was very cold when I got home, he usually has my dinner and a cup of tea ready for me and I was later back than usual because we’d been dealing with an emergency at work.

'When I saw Alan I knew it wasn’t something I could deal with so I dialled 999.

'In the ambulance we told them to go to my hospital, City General, which has just opened a new A&E and when we got there they were fantastic.

'I work in the elderly care unit at the hospital and I wasn’t expecting to be visiting A&E this quickly.

'Alan is a builder and obviously he’s had a ribbing from his mates about the whole thing but I’m just glad he’s home in one piece.'



Mark Smith, crew manager at Market Drayton fire station, said it took about 20 minutes to free Mr Williams from the stairs.

He said: 'Alan was carrying out some DIY work earlier in the evening and was home alone when it happened so he couldn’t reach his mobile phone.

'It was a five-inch nail so he was completely stuck at the top of the stairs.

'There was no way the nail could be removed so the only way to do it was to by removing the top step, which was still attached to him when he was bandaged and went to hospital.'



Incredibly, thanks to the work of doctors, Mr Williams will have full use of his vital hand for work.



