A DIABETIC barber is set to return to work after snapping his Achilles’ tendon ––– and barely even feeling it.

Martin Baybutt, 63, who runs Martin’s Barbers, Accrington Road, Blackburn, has suffered diabetes for 15 years, and the condition has left him with almost no feeling in his feet.

He snapped the tendon climbing steps at Cleveleys Beach on January 4, but thought nothing of the incident until a week later.

The swelling was so bad that it was another week before doctors could identify the broken fibre.

Now he wants to warn other diabetic people to be careful ––– or risk four months without being able to work.

He said: “I had just walked a little way along the beach with my wife Sheila and we were going up the steps.

“I felt something go and I knew I’d have to keep an eye on it, but my feet get swollen anyway because of the diabetes so I didn’t realise anything was seriously wrong until I looked at it one morning and it was twice the size of the other leg.

“I’ve spent four months with my foot in a special orthopaedic boot to keep it straight while the tendon heals.

“It’s been very difficult in terms of the business, but it was either that or an operation, which again would have been complicated by my diabetes, so the doctors advised against it.”

High blood sugar levels over a long period can lead to nerve damage, particularly in the feet and legs, meaning injuries can go unnoticed.

GPs advise all diabetic people to go for regular leg check-ups to ensure the nerves are healthy.

Mr Baybutt said: “The business has been kept going by a friend who’s semi-retired but has come in a few days a week for me. I’ve got another appointment at the hospital in the beginning of May so I’m hoping I’ll be able to build back up to full time after that.

“It was just a two inch step but it has meant four months of upheaval for my wife and me, and if anything happens to it again I will need surgery.”

To find out more about leg problems associated with diabetes, speak to your GP or visit the website below.