Hawick man loses the tip of a finger in a horror accident in the town

The victim George Gilmour with his grandson Harris.

At 4pm on Monday, April 19, retired gardener George Gilmour and wife Carol popped along to a charity collection point at the Common Haugh.

As George attempted to drop the clothes inside the container the handle slammed down – removing around an inch from the index finger on his left hand and leaving the bone exposed.

With blood pumping from the injury Carol retrieved the finger tip from the handle and used a towel to restrict the flow of blood from her husband’s finger.

Staff at the local community hospital offered initial medical support and George was transported to Borders General Hospital.

Last night, April 20, he was released from St John’s Hospital at Livingston after undergoing a successful skin graft.

Carol, 62, said: “We normally use the recycling bank up by Stirches where we live but my husband was getting his second Covid jab so the stuff was in the car and we just decided to drop it there.

"He just went to put the bag in and pulled the handle to put the clothing in and it slammed down on his finger. He jumped back and the blood was everywhere, it was pumping out.

"I went towards the bin to close it as the bag he was putting in was still hanging and when I went to close it that’s when I noticed that the bottom part of his finger was still attached to the handle.

“The nurses at the community hospital came out and put finger in an ice and phoned Borders General Hospital where he was given penicillin. Unfortunately the finger tip could not be reattached.”

George did disclose one benefit from his awful ordeal.

Carol explained: “He said he was quite sore after the Covid jab but that the pain in his finger took it away.”

The couple are now trying to establish the actual ownership of the bin.

At the weekend another man had reported a similar incident at the clothing bank, expressing concerns after his hand was left black and blue.

The recycling bin has now been removed from the site.

Carol added: “This man told us he had had his hand in the same bin on Sunday and had reported it.

" His hand was black and blue and he’d asked to get a sign up or to get the bin removed because it was a risk to the public.

"There was obviously a problem with that clothes recycling bin. I don’t know who has responsibility. Because it is on council grounds I have been told the council needs to give permission to put the clothes bank there.

"I have taken photographs of the bin which has now been removed.”