A Harrogate man involved in a lawnmower accident will feature on TV this evening.
48-year-old Chris Gill will take centre stage in the first episode of Yorkshire Air 999 - a new TV series airing every Friday at 9pm on Quest.
He was out helping a friend with some gardening when a simple task turned into a serious accident.
While clearing grass from the blades of a lawn mower, Chris’s hand became entangled, leaving three fingers nearly severed and hanging by only a thin piece of skin.
Despite the intense pain and severity of his injuries, Chris managed to stay in good spirits, showing remarkable resilience and positivity throughout the ordeal.
Yorkshire Air Ambulance’s Critical Care Team, including Paramedics Sam Berridge and Matty McCabe, responded swiftly from YAA’s Topcliffe base, reaching Chris within nine minutes.
Due to the rural setting, the team had to land the helicopter a quarter of a mile from the scene, and then proceed on foot before joining a land ambulance crew already on site.
Reflecting on the critical nature of Chris’s injury, Sam said:
“When you hear about fingers caught in machinery, the goal is to manage pain immediately and maintain blood supply to improve the chances of reattachment.
“Time is critical in cases like Chris’s, as prolonged lack of blood flow can mean tissue damage, affecting surgical success later.”
YAA’s critical care team was essential to this incident, bringing advanced medications and procedures not available to land crews, including stronger pain relief options and specialist techniques for managing complex injuries.
These capabilities allow the team to provide rapid, targeted treatment to significantly reduce Chris’s pain and protected the viability of his severely damaged fingers, improving his chances of successful surgical repair.
On assessing Chris’s injuries, the team administered a “ring block” injecting a local anaesthetic called lidocaine to numb his fingers and relieve his intense pain, allowing the team to safely stabilise his hand.
Sam explained:
“Each finger has four nerves—two at the top and two at the bottom.
“The ring block allows us to numb the area by targeting these nerves, effectively stopping the pain signals from reaching the brain.”
The ring block took effect immediately, with Chris feeling far calmer and more comfortable after the procedure.
Due to the risk of infection from soil and dirt on his hands, Chris was also given antibiotics before being transferred by land ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary.
He later underwent a complex four-and-a-half-hour surgery, during which surgeons carefully reattached his fingers using four pins in his middle finger and one in his index finger.
As a plasterer by trade, Chris expressed relief and gratitude for the care he received.
He said:
"I need my fingers for my work, so I’m incredibly thankful to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance team.
“Their support and expertise really made a difference that day.
“While I face a long recovery and weekly physiotherapy, I’m hopeful about regaining full use of my hand.
“My fingers are still swollen and sore but keeping them is something I’ll never take for granted.
“I feel very lucky they were there when I needed them most."
Chris’s story will air tonight on the show that will also follow the YAA team as they respond to other emergencies.
These include a climber who fell 30 feet on the Yorkshire Three Peaks, a serious equestrian accident and a 13-year-old girl facing a life-threatening asthma attack in the remote Dales.
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