A SCHOOLBOY'S finger was severed as he jumped over metal railings to retrieve a football.

Craig Pendlebury (15) was yesterday (Thurs Feb 8) undergoing micro surgery in a bid to have the finger sewn back on.

It was ripped off when he had attempted to recover his football after kicking it over a fence outside the Dorma Fabric factory near Bradley Fold Cottages, Radcliffe on Wednesday night (Feb 7).

As he jumped back over he caught his finger on the railing, slicing it off above the knuckle, before running out into the street screaming for help.

Neighbours heard his cries for help and ran to his aid. They later went for ice to pack his severed finger in. Neighbour Wendy Chadwick, of Bradley Fold Cottages, said: "We heard somebody shouting. My husband went out with a torch and saw a young lad. He asked him what was wrong and the lad sobbed 'I've lost my finger'. "The boy had tried to ring for help on his mobile phone but he was too shocked."

The accident happened at 10.30pm on Wednesday when Craig, from Browns Road, was playing alone on a country lane near Bradley Fold Cottages.

Fireman Michael Dargan retrieved his finger from the railings, putting it into a surgical glove and a tea towel before paramedics arrived. Leading Firemen Dargan said crews originally thought the teenager had been impaled on the 10ft-high fence.

He said: "Kids do climb over fences but this was a very serious incident. One of the neighbours ran out to find him running up and down the streets shouting for help. He was bleeding and hysterical.

"The fact that there was a ball in the street suggests that he kicked the ball into the works yard then retrieved it, kicked it back over but caught his finger on the way back."

The teenager was initially taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital before being transferred to Withington Hospital where he was expected to undergo an operation to sew the finger back on. His parents spent Thursday at his bedside.