Injured driver plans to get back to work

Feb 21 2008 by Ben Guy, The Journal

A TRUCK driver seriously injured in a farm accident on Monday is determined to get back to work.

Keith Jones, 49, of Wesley Street, Prudhoe, had both arms trapped in a lime spreading machine in a field near Brampton, Cumbria, He is being treated in Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary .

Father-of-two Mr Jones broke all his fingers, numerous bones in both his hands, fractured his left wrist and suffered serious skin injuries to his arms.

Although Mr Jones, an HGV driver for Thompsons of Prudhoe, remains heavily sedated, he has already told his wife June, 48, that he plans to be back at work this year.

Mrs Jones, an auxiliary nurse at Hexham General Hospital, said: “He said that the pain was horrendous, and that he was trapped with his arms in the machine for 45 minutes. He said it was awful.

“But he is the kind of person who will adjust to it in time.

“It is going to be a long hard slog but he is determined.

“He lay in that bed and told me that he would get back to work this year – he is that determined.”

Mr Jones who has already undergone eight-and-a-half hours of surgery, faces more today as doctors battle to repair his hands and arms.

The family have been told that there is a 75% chance all his fingers will be saved.

Mr Jones has been with the Prudhoe-based firm for 20 years and his son, Christopher, 21, also works for the company.He also has a daughter, Kerry, 23.

Mrs Jones said driving was her husband’s life. “It is all he wanted to do since he left school. He just loves his work and his family.

“He is a DIY fanatic, so everything he does is with his hands. He is always fiddling around with cars.

“He is very clever like that and can turn his hand to anything – I think that is going through his mind at the moment.

Mr and Mrs Jones celebrate their silver wedding anniversary in July.

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive confirmed that an investigation would be launched into the accident.