A SOCCER-MAD teenager has spoken about the moment his finger was ripped off in a horror accident.

Craig Pendlebury (15), captain of Bury's Woodbank FC, has chosen to live with the loss after telling doctors he did not want it re-attached to his hand.

Craig had his little finger torn off at the knuckle when he tried to leap a spiked railing near to his home in Bradley Fold in a bid to retrive his football.

He is pictured back at home with pet dog Tara as he recovers from his injury.

And he praised neighbours living near the Dorma Fabric factory, near Bradley Fold Cottage, for their speedy response to his cries for help.

Craig, an Arsenal fan, kicked his football over the factory's fence while he was walking his dog last Wednesday (Feb 7).

The teenager jumped over the spike railing but he caught his finger, slicing it off.

He said: "To be honest, I didn't stop to look. I knew straight away my finger had come off and I just thought, "Oh God."

"I didn't know what to expect. All I knew was that it was bad. I just grabbed the finger and stuffed it in my jumper. Then I pinched my hand dead tight to stop blood from coming out. "I was running around screaming for help. I realised I had a mobile phone so I called for an ambulance and that's when some kind people from a cottage came out and helped me."

A fireman, Michael Dargan, placed the severed finger in a surgical glove and packed it in ice supplied by residents.

Craig, of Browns Road, Bradley Fold, then underwent microsurgery to his finger.

But doctors said re-attaching it could cause him problems in the future.

They told him he would be likely to ask for its removal within two years if he went ahead with the re-attachment.

The teenager said: "I was told it had a small chance of survival and that I would be in pain for about two years. In the end, I thought it was best not to have it sewn back on.

"I'm just trying to get on with life now. I was stupid to climb over the fence but then it's all ifs. What if I didn't go out, what if I didn't take the ball... I can't live like that, I have to be positive.

"I also want to thank the doctors and nurses at the Royal Bolton Hospital for all their help."

His mother Audrey, however, is still coming to terms with the loss. She said: "Craig seems okay about it but I'm not. I don't think I ever will, the way I feel at the moment.

"I'm finding it difficult to cope with. One minute he was watching Fatal Attraction with me and the next thing I know, he'd lost his finger."

Craig added: "The only thing I've noticed is my handwriting's worse. I can't wait to start playing football again, though."