A tree surgeon from Devon had emergency surgery on his hand after his finger was sliced off by a log splitting machine.

Darren Gillespie had been cutting wood in Crediton when his index finger was severed and the tip of his middle finger snipped clean off.

Doctors at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital tried to re-attach the finger, which had been kept in the freezer to stop in decomposing, but failed.

Business owner Joshua Noon, 28, appeared in court in Exeter charged with health and safety failings in relation to the incident.

He admitted failing to follow proper safety systems in the operation of the machine and faces a large fine when he returns to court for sentence.

The incident happened on December 29, 2017.

Noon had sub contracted self-employed Gillespie to help out on the machine in his parents' shed. He was working with the defendant's father, Mark Noon, at the time of the accident. Mr Gillespie was loading the logs on to the machine while Mr Noon Snr was pressing the controls.

At some point in the afternoon Mr Gillespie, who had been given gloves, was loading logs when his hand became trapped, his index finger severed and middle finger snipped.

District Judge Jo Matson heard the injuries have had a profound impact on Mr Gillespie and he could no longer perform tasks as quickly as he once could.

The prosecution was brought by the Health and Safety Executive which investigates accidents at work.

Mr Tom Walker, prosecuting, said Noon 'should not have allowed two people to operate the log splitter' and doing so made the system unsafe. The correct method was for one person to load the logs then move away and operate the controls.

He said there was no suitable risk assessment made of the machine before Mr Gillespie, who had never used it before, started work.

The defendant said the injured man had been verbally told about how it worked and the various parts but accepted a proper system and guidance was not in place.

Noon had cooperated with the HSE during the investigation and was sorry for what had happened. He had built his business up from nothing, worked extremely hard, and had a good safety record apart from this incident, the court was told.

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The machine was in good working order and the incident had come as a shock.

Judge Matson said she would adjourn the case to consider sentence. She wanted to assess the value of the log business, which had a turnover of £170,000 in 2019, before imposing a fine and awarding costs.

Noon, of Highfield Close, Lapford, admitted failing to conduct an undertaking to ensure persons were not exposed to risks to their health and safety.

He was released on unconditional bail until September 17.