Now that's backbone! Apprentice butcher back at work just 26 DAYS after losing his hand in shop's meat mincing machine

• Thomas Stevens had been working for just six weeks before the accident
• The 16-year-old's hand was amputated at the shop in Street, Somerset 
• After just 26 days, he has returned to work after becoming 'bored' at home
• Now 17, Thomas uses a prosthetic hook to slice meat cuts at the butcher
• His employer Paul Jeffrey was fined £15,000 by Yeovil Magistrates Court
• The mincing machine was not fitted with a guard to prevent accidents

By Jennifer Smith for MailOnline

Published: 13:13 EST, 22 January 2015

An apprentice butcher forced to have his hand amputated when it became stuck in a mincing machine is back at work, just 26 days after the horrendous accident.

Thomas Stevens had only been working for six weeks when his right hand became trapped in the unsafe machine at P and K Meats in Street, Somerset. 

Paramedics were forced to amputate the then 16-year-old's hand after 30 minutes, with the teenager's boss later found guilty of health and safety offences and ordered to pay thousands in court.

 

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Thomas Stevens has returned to work at the butchers in Street, Somerset, just 26 days after losing his hand in a horrendous accident 

After 26 days out of work, Thomas has returned to the shop, slicing up cuts of meat with a prosthetic hook. 

'I just decided after my accident just to get on with it and not let it hold me back and carry on with what I love,' he said.

'It was a total of 26 days I was out for, that was it. I got bored just sat at home.

'I'm coping really well, I have learnt to adapt with what I have got, I'm doing really well.

'I have a prosthetic hook which I tend to use when I'm butchering and all that, it’s actually much easier, although I have to be careful not to cut my other hand!'

 

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The 17-year-old now uses a prosthetic hook to slice cuts of meat in the shop, which he says is 'easier'

 

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Thomas had only been working at the butcher for six weeks when his hand became trapped in the machine

Yeovil magistrates heard how Thomas had always wanted to become a butcher when he undertook training beneath Paul Jeffrey last summer. 

After six weeks in the shop, the teenager was using the meat mincing machine when his right hand became trapped. 

'The victim was working at the meat mincing machine when his right hand entered the feed intake and became trapped,' prosecutor Lesley Dolan told Yeovil Magistrates Court, where Mr Jeffrey was found guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.

'Fire and rescue and ambulance crews were called to the scene and his dominant right hand was amputated in situ and he was then taken to hospital.'

The old machine had not been fitted with a guard since being bought by Mr Jeffrey despite a change in British Standards, the court heard. 

'When he bought the premises he took over the lease and all the equipment and at the time it was manufactured it was sold as it is now and it had never had a guard fitted,' said his lawyer, Ian Dixey.

'However since then the British Standards have changed and all such machines come with a guard sitting over the top.'

Mr Jeffrey was ordered to pay £15,000 after telling the court he felt 'personally responsible' for the accident. 

 

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The teenager had always wanted to learn how to become a butcher when he undertook training at the shop

 

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Determined not to let the accident get in the way of his ambitions, Thomas is back at work and enjoying his training once again

 

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Thomas's employer was fined £15,000 in Magistrates Court after admitting to feeling 'personally responsible' for the teenager's accident

'He enjoys trying to pass on the skills of the business to those who are working for him as he is a properly trained butcher,' Mr Dixey added. 

'The accident was a terrible blow to him as he feels total responsibility for what happened.

'He has tried his best to make it up to Tom by training him and passing on what he knows and the most important thing is that he has learnt from this.

'He is quite well known locally and it is clear that a number of other shops realised they were not doing what they should have been and have been in touch with him to find out what is required by the local authority.' 

The butcher was spared jail, with magistrates accepting his guilty plea as a sign of remorse. 

'We have also looked at the fact that others are relying on you for employment therefore it would not have been in anybody’s interests to imprison you or cripple you with huge fines,' said Susan Coates, chair of the bench. 

A separate claim for compensation on behalf of Thomas is being dealt with by the shop's insurers, the court heard.