A HEAD groundsman lost his left hand after he tried to untangle the blades of a lawnmower.

Roger Adams, 53, was mowing the cricket pitch behind North West Kent College in Oakfield Lane, Dartford, when the accident happened.

It is believed an object got stuck in the blades of the tractor mower and he used a stick to retrieve it.

A passer-by, who did not want to be named, said she saw Mr Adams stumbling towards her clutching his arm.

Leading firefighter Bob Chilmaid, from Dartford fire station, said Mr Adams was being treated by paramedics when they arrived. He was sitting in the ambulance but we were needed to take the lawnmower apart to see if anything could be retrieved.

"We found a few human parts and sent them with the ambulance to Darent Valley Hospital.

Police cordoned off the site for an hour as firefighters took the machine apart and health and safety officials from the college launched an investigation. Mr Adams has worked at the site for 27 years as a groundsman. Steve Simmons, spokesman for NWK College, said: "People have been to see him and said he is in good spirits. He is getting support from colleagues, personnel and his employers.

The Health and Safety Executive have been involved and will investigate."