A YOUNG musician who endured hours of surgery after slicing off three fingers in an horrific guillotine accident has begun to rebuild his life. Although surgeons saved two of the three fingers using micro-surgery, keen guitarist and keyboard player Richard Baines, 24, must face up to losing his wedding ring finger.

Back home in Arran Avenue, Shadsworth, Blackburn, Rick said he had faced up to the fact that he will never play the guitar again and is finding keyboard-playing difficult.

He said: "I know I will never reach the same standard on the guitar as I had before and so I have decided to stop playing for good.

"I am already playing in a band which is based on a computerised sound - something I can still do - and so I will concentrate on that.

"I will miss playing the guitar but I am determined to stay positive."

Rick was working at Rossendale Packaging Services, in Victoria Street, Accrington, three weeks ago when the accident happened. He endured several hours of surgery at Manchester's Withington Hospital before they allowed him to go home.

But he must stay indoors during the cold weather because the nerve endings in his damaged fingers have not yet repaired themselves.

Rick is attending regular physiotherapy sessions to re-educate the muscles in his fingers.

He said: "The nurses have been great and I can't thank the surgeons enough for repairing the damage to such an extent.

"Now I need to learn to live with the loss of just one finger, rather than three."

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