Not too long ago we brought to you the story of a guy who had his finger ripped off while playing five-a-side football thanks to his wedding ring. He never got it reattached because of the damage and it was all sorts of fucked up.
This story is not too dissimilar.
Urban exploring of course has its dangers. When you go walking around an old, rusty, abandoned building or go climbing up one of the world's tallest towers without a harness, the risk of falling to your death on a loose step can be very real.
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And while I've heard stories of urban explorers meeting their deaths due to their hobby, this is the first time I've ever heard of an urban explorer losing their finger due to their adventures.
Before you read on, I just want to warn the more squeamish among you, there are some absolutely horrendous pictures and videos ahead, so if you're the type to gag over even the thought of a little blood, get off this page as quick as you can.
Guy Ravenhill, 15, was out with his friends, Isaac Longman, Kyle Barber and Josh McArthur, climbing some water towers near Medstead in Hampshire on May 22 this year. All was going hunky dory until they'd finished and on the walk back, at around 5.50pm, saw a tall radio mast.
Being urban explorers, this was seen as a chance to explore, so they decided they'd try and climb it. To get to it, however, they'd need to climb over a spiked fence surrounding the tower.
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Luckily for them, there was a tipped over fridge, so they flipped it up and leaned it against the fence. Guy climbed up on the fridge and looked over the fence.
"This is where it all went to shit," Guy told TheLADbible. "My muddy shoes made me slip off the fridge and as I fell, my right index finger got caught between the spikes and was subsequently ripped off."
As he got up, he had no idea his finger was missing and it was only when he felt something unusual on his hand that he looked at his finger and realised it wasn't there.
He continued: "I started shouting, 'MY FINGER'S BEEN RIPPED OFF! I CUT MY FINGER OFF!'. I scrambled on the floor looking for it and, for some reason, when I found it, I chilled out."
Naturally, he called his father to tell him what had happened while running to a nearby car park where a lady let him put his finger in an unused dog poo bag.
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Guy's friend Kyle told us: "When I saw what just happened I just laughed with them. It wasn't harsh or anything, Guy was laughing at it as much as us, probably due to shock and adrenaline."
When his dad arrived, they put his finger in a bag of frozen peas and dashed to the local A&E at Basingstoke.
After some X-rays and analysis of his finger, Guy was told he'd need to go to Salisbury District Hospital where he was forced to stay the night for an operation the following morning.
"I walked down to the theatre with a nurse and then they put me to sleep," Guy added. "Seven and a half hours later they'd finished the surgery and my finger was attached but they still hadn't fixed the top tendon and there was an area of raw flesh still visible."
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After waking up in recovery, he threw up and then woke up again on a ward. For the next 24 hours, he was sat in hospital having nurses check his temperature, his blood pressure and, of course, his finger. Guy had to endure antibiotic injections every four hours into his arm and was then told he'd need to stay another week in hospital.
On May 27, he was finally discharged with a dodgy looking finger.
"Since then I've had weekly check-ups and got some really good snaps out of it."
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Millennials...
Anyway, Guy's finger is slowly but surely healing, even though it does still look a bit grim as it is.
So let this be a lesson to urban explorers everywhere: spiked fences are there for a reason and they take absolutely no prisoners, including your index finger.
Also, oddly enough, this is the second person I've written about who has lost their finger and not actually given too much of a shit about it. Fair play Guy, you took it in better spirits than I ever would have.
Words by George Pavlou
Images provided
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