A bar supervisor who dodged getting coronavirus has nearly lost his THUMB after a Corona bottle 'exploded' in his hand.

Nigel Hayes, 54, was stocking the fridges behind the bar of the restaurant when he retrieved two Corona bottles off the stock shelves in the cellar.

As the two bottles clinked together in his hand, one spontaneously exploded, slicing Nigel's hand wide open and nearly taking his entire thumb off.

Nigel was rushed to hospital where doctors worked diligently to save his thumb on September 26.

Nigel, who lives in West Drayton, London, said: "It was as simple as picking up a couple of bottles. I didn't drop them, it was by no fault of my own by any means - they literally clinked together and exploded.

"It just happened so quickly. The bottle exploded, and the next thing I know, there's blood spurting everywhere so my first thought was I better stop that!

"The laceration between the forefinger and the thumb is so deep that if the bone hadn't been there, it would have severed the thumb completely.

"It wasn't until I did a bit of research later that I realised the seriousness of the problem with Corona bottles exploding.

"I stock up every night of the week, I've worked on and off in pubs and bars for years and I've never seen anything like it."

Bar supervisor and stock manager Nigel was handling the restocking of the bar at The Water's Edge Canal Cottages where he has worked for the past three years alongside his job as a musician.

Taking two Corona bottles off the shelves in the cellar, Nigel was taken by surprise when one exploded in his hand as they clinked together.

He said: "We'd sold a couple of Coronas so I picked up a couple of Coronas to restock the fridge, picking one up and then another, putting them both in the same hand.

"The second they clinked together, the first bottle that I had been holding exploded - there's no other way of explaining it.

"It just happened so quickly. The bottle exploded, and the next thing I know, there's blood spurting everywhere so my first thought was I better stop that!

"I knew it was bad as soon as it happened because of the amount of blood so I wasn't thinking about what had happened but that I needed to get it sorted - now!"

Nigel's supervisor examined his hand and sent him to A&E at Hillingdon Hospital where doctors found he had extensive nerve damage and his flexal tendon had been severed.

This video was filmed on the 1st October 2021.