A Scots dad ended up losing his leg after he bravely tried to stop the driver of a quad bike being injured.
Simon Hall, 48, was on holiday with his family in the Highlands when the accident happened while he was a passenger in the bike.
He realised it was going too fast down a hill and put his foot down to try to stop the vehicle "because the driver wasn't braking in time."
"I kind of took the decision that I'd rather get hurt than two of us get hurt," said Mr Hall, who is from Cumbernauld and has three grown-up sons.
"My foot got stuck and I had to pull out between the rock and the quad bike. I felt my leg snap and it was flapping and I thought I'd lost my leg then."
He was airlifted from Fort William to a Glasgow hospital after the accident in July 2012 where surgeons managed to save his leg.
However, complications occurred and three years later he agreed to have the limb amputated because of the "horrendous" pain he was suffering.
"It was a condition called chronic regional pain syndrome and my leg was starting going black," said Mr Hall, who was forced to give up his job as a pastry chef.
"I had no life, I couldn't do anything, I couldn't go anywhere.
“I had my operation in the December and was told I would be in over Christmas.
"I woke up after my operation needing the toilet. I got up straight away with my sticks and went straight the toilet. And I remember there were two other people in the ward shouting, ‘What are you doing? You've just lost your leg!
"I was walking up and down the ward that whole day because I wanted home and actually got out on the 24th. I think I'm the quickest ever person to get an amputation and be out home within a day and a half. I got home for Christmas."
Quad bikes, or all-terrain vehicles, have no cab to protect riders if the vehicle rolls over, and dozens of people are believed to die in the UK each year in accidents involving them, many on farms.
In 2019, Ben Goldsmith’s 15-year-old daughter Iris died after her quad bike overturned while she was riding it on their farm.
A 58-year-old man was killed in a quad bike incident in Oban on New Year’s Day this year. The UK government is currently reviewing safety legislation around the use of the bikes.
The Health and Safety Executive is conducting fresh research into whether fixed roll bars, known as operator protection devices (OPDs), could prevent riders being crushed underneath the vehicles if they overturn.
Mr Hall now volunteers at University Hospital Hairmyres after linking in with the Scottish amputee charity Finding your Feet.
“My heart goes out to folk who don’t have visitors," he said.
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"Being an amputee, I can talk to other amputees and let them know what the journey is like.
"There have been patients who have not had their amputation yet and they’ve asked to speak to me just for advice.
“It’s just being human - being there for somebody, to listen. If I can help somebody, it's the best feeling.”
NHS Lanarkshire is currently recruiting new volunteers. To find out more about volunteering, visit: https://www.nhslanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk/get-involved/volunteering/
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