Transplant is toe-tal success

A British dad-of-one has had his big toe attached to his hand after accidentally chopping his thumb off.

James Byrne accidentally severed the digit while chopping a piece of wood last year and while doctors tried frantically to sew it back on, the blood in his thumb refused to start flowing again.

In his job as a paver, the use of his hand is vital so medical experts came up with an answer - sewing his big toe on to his hand.

James said: "My son thinks it's great, I showed it to all of his mates and became a bit of a celebrity in the playground for a while."

While the tendons, bone, nerves, arteries, ligaments and skin of his new hand have successfully fused together, James will have to undergo a second operation to remove a piece of wire that is currently holding the bone in place.