Sausages save man's sliced finger

The man was taken by ambulance to Middlemore Hospital which has a specialist surgery unit. Photo / File

A slab of frozen sausages and a mercy dash through peak-hour traffic on Auckland's motorways in a police car saved the day after a man severed his finger while using a bench saw.

The 23-year-old was working at a wooden outdoor furniture manufacturer on Auckland's North Shore when he sliced through two of his fingers just after 4pm on Thursday.

One finger was severed and the other one barely attached. He ran to reception where a colleague helped.

"She took immediate action, she wrapped his hand up with a towel and then her first instinct was to get him in the car and get him to hospital," said the owner of the business, who did not want to be named.

The man was taken by ambulance to Middlemore Hospital which has a specialist surgery unit.

Meanwhile, another colleague found the severed finger and called his boss immediately.

"There was so much mess when it happened, they didn't know where was what," he said. "I arrived back at the office soon after and I was called by the hospital to say they needed to get the finger there urgently."

The owner of the furniture factory thought it would be quicker for him to drive. He was initially a bit freaked out about having to touch the errant digit.

"But when it came down to it, realistically it was just something I had to do. I didn't think about it, I just did it, and did it quickly." He was told to put it on ice and went to the freezer to see what was available. The only frozen item was a 10-pack of sausages.

The finger was bagged, placed on the sausages and then put into another plastic bag.

He was only on the Northwestern Motorway for a few seconds when he got a call from police saying they would help.

"I pulled over on the shoulder between Northcote and Esmonde Rd and a very kind officer pulled in and came and got the bag and off he went." The officer used lights and sirens to get through the traffic.

The man had surgery on Thursday and was last night in a stable condition. His family were supporting him.