Video: Aberdeen man tells of losing arm in horror accident
Man pulled into machine at paper mill
Published:
AN ABERDEEN man who lost his arm in a paper mill accident today spoke for the first time about the horrific ordeal
Stephen Lewendon had been working a night shift at the Inverurie Paper Mill when his arm was hauled into one of the machines.
“It is a blur,” he said. “One moment I was standing there and the next I was in the machine. It happened in seconds.
“The machine feeds through 300 metres of paper every minute so that just shows the speed it was going.”
Stephen, of Aberdeen’s Northfield, remained conscious and trapped in the machine until paramedics arrived about 10 minutes later.
But they were at the scene for a further 35 minutes as they worked to free Stephen from the machine.
His left arm had been pulled in between two rollers at the end of the machine which had become scalding hot – the main reason for the amputation of his arm five months ago.
He said: “It was the heat from the rollers. It was incredibly hot and it severed all the nerves.”
And Stephen’s panic-stricken workmates frantically tried to help him get his arm free from the machine.
He said: “Even though I was the one in the machine I think I was the calmest one there.”
The 33-year-old Aberdeen man said he did not feel much emotion coming round from the amputation of his arm following January’s accident, because he had been given such strong medication.
But he describes life since losing his arm as “awkward”, saying it takes him “three times longer to do everything”.
Accident investigators revealed earlier this month a probe into the accident was complete and a report had been sent to the procurator fiscal in Aberdeen.
Since the accident, Stephen has been volunteering at a bike recycling centre in Aberdeen.
And he was reeling after his pride and joy, a modified bike, was stolen from the Aberdeen centre.
The bike, a Presley Loadstar worth about £1,000, was a gift from his bosses at the former paper mill – who he has a strong relationship with since the accident.
The distinctive tricycle-style bike, which is the only one he can ride safely after losing his arm, was stolen from Aberdeen’s Be-cycle, a bike recycling project on the city’s Don Street.
He said: “It had been chained up and the chains had been cut through. I had done work on the gears and the brakes.
“It was the bike I rode during the Torcher Parade last month.”
A Grampian Police spokeswoman said inquiries were ongoing into the stolen bike.
She said: “We are investigating the theft of a tricycle which occurred between 1pm on June 19 and 2.30pm on June 20 from Don Street, Aberdeen.
“We are appealing for witnesses to come forward.”
Stephen volunteers at Aberdeen’s Be-Cycle most days and gives people advice on how they can recycle their old bikes.
