A TRAUMATIC accident in a village workshop severed Malcolm Pipes’s hand and left him fearing for his life.

A sudden distraction while using a circular saw caused the horrific injury and although the cabinet-maker managed to raise the alarm he was convinced he was going to bleed to death.

But the skills and speed of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance service saved his life and his left hand after a 13-minute mercy dash from his Carlton Husthwaite home to Leeds General Infirmary.

That was back in February and this week Malcolm is celebrating a milestone in his recovery – he has beaten his own target of holding a pint in his re-attached hand by Christmas.

Malcolm said: “I can’t recall a great deal about the accident. I was suddenly distracted for some reason, I think something flew in through the door.”

He had the presence of mind to run out of his workshop to his house, where his cousin, Tony Kingsley, was working on an extension. He and his wife, Liz, and Malcolm’s mum, Gladys Pipes, raised the alarm. While an ambulance set off from Thirsk, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance helicopter was scrambled.

Malcolm said: “The ambulance crew from Thirsk talked Tony through what to do to help me. He did a wonderful job because he was in a state of shock as well as me.”

Within minutes the air ambulance was on the scene. Tony dashed back to the worshop to retrieve the hand, putting it into a bag of frozen peas to try to save it.

Malcolm said: “If it hadn’t been for the air ambulance, my family and the surgeons at the hospital, I wouldn’t be here today. The air medical crew, the pilot, and all the hospital staff were absolutely fantastic and I am so grateful to them.”

Despite his experience, the one thing he remembers about his helicopter dash was flying over Leeds United’s ground at Elland Road. “It was a marvellous experience, even though it was such a trauma,” said Malcolm.

Malcolm, 63, who trained at the famous Robert “Mouseman” Thompson workshops at Kilburn before setting up his own business, is about to achieve a second goal on his road to recovery and is playing a key part in an auction to raise money for the air ambulance.

A collection of bespoke furniture made by members of the exclusive craftsman’s group, Thirsk Furniture Trail, is to go under the auctioneer’s hammer at Tennants’ Auctioneers in Leyburn on Saturday, and hopes are high the sale will raise £2,000 for the air ambulance.

A cabinet maker for 48 years, Malcolm’s trademark of a fox’s head is carved onto all his pieces of work, and he has high hopes of returning to his workbench and picking up his tools once again.