Whose leg is it anyway?

A MAN who accidentally lost track of his own severed leg while it was being stored is locked in a legal battle over its ownership with the man who found it.

John Wood’s leg was amputated near the knee after a 2004 plane crash.

He asked doctors to give it to him so he could be buried as a whole man when he died. He kept the limb in a barbecue smoker, which was put in rented storage in North Carolina after he lost his home. But then it was auctioned off after he failed to keep up rental payments.

Shannon Whisnant, who bought the smoker, initially gave the leg to police. They handed it to a funeral home when it became clear it was not the result of foul play.

But Mr Whisnant, who put a sign on the empty smoker charging adults £1.50 and children 70p for a look, now wants it back.

“He’s making a freak show out of it,” Mr Wood said yesterday. “He wants to put money in his pocket with this thing.”

Mr Whisnant, who was unsuccessful in his bid to get the leg from the funeral home, consulted with a lawyer and decided his best move was to persuade Mr Wood to share custody and profits. “It’s a strange incident and Hallowe’en’s just around the corner,” Mr Whisnant said. “The price will be going up if I get (a stake in) the leg.”

Mr Wood said he is not interested in using the leg to make money.