Another improbable one:
Electrician 'inflated' by pressurised air which 'shot up his bottom' in bizarre factory accident
An electrician nearly died in a horrific and bizarre work accident when he was 'inflated' by a pressurised air line which went up his bottom.
10:08AM BST 24 Aug 2011
Dad-of-one Gareth Durrant, 26, was wiring a caravan at the factory where he worked when the large pipe - carrying compressed air at around 300lbs per square inch - shot up his back passage.
He was rushed to hospital where scans revealed a six-inch tear in his bowel and severe damage to his intestines. He then faced hours of emergency surgery to save his life while wife Sarah, 25, waited anxiously with their toddler son Daniel, three.
The op repaired the tear and also involved performing an ileostomy leaving him with a stoma bag to collect bodily waste - and the 'inflation' meant some of his clothes no longer fitted him.
He was unable to eat properly as he was vomiting food and now suffers agonising stomach pains and cramps as well as depression, anxiety and panic attacks.
He has also not been able to work since causing huge financial strain on his young family. Wife Sarah, who is currently eight months pregnant, can now only work part-time because she has to look after her husband and their three-year-old son.
Gareth is pursuing a civil claim against his employer and a court will decide whether they were responsible during a two-day hearing starting on Thursday. If they are found liable he will be able to claim compensation.
Gareth told how he was working at Willerby Holiday Homes in Hull, East Yorks., which makes static caravans, when the incident occurred. He was aware that the air line - one of many which hang from the ceiling and are used to power tools on the production line at the factory - was being used behind him and got on with work until suddenly he felt an explosion of air for a few brief agonising seconds.
He said: "I was reaching up to finish the wiring on a caravan at the factory. I knew this air hose was being used close behind me but I just carried on the job as normal.
"The next thing I knew I felt this strong air being blown on my legs from behind, and then something went up my rectum through the shorts I was wearing.
"It felt like I had been blown up, it was the biggest shock of my life. There was air fizzing around inside my back passage and stomach, it was so weird.
"At that time I didn't feel much pain, but the doctors later explained that was the adrenaline of the moment. Then it kicked in and I just can't put in to words how painful it was. I lay down, they rang for an ambulance and I was taken to hospital."
Gareth was fully conscious during his unimaginable ordeal on July 13 last year. The next day he had emergency surgery and spent a week in hospital before being allowed home.
[...]
The Health and Safety Executive are still investigating the incident.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... ident.html
But a later story claims:
Electrician 'inflated by air hose' was victim of prank
An electrician who suffered serious internal injuries after a compressed air hose went up his backside was the victim of a ''dangerous and foolish'' prank, a court heard yesterday.
2:49PM BST 25 Aug 2011
Gareth Durrant, 26, was working in a factory making static caravans when the air hose, carrying 300lbs per square inch, was allegedly blasted up his shorts and into his anus by a colleague.
Mr Durrant underwent emergency surgery and more than a year after the accident he is still suffering from the long-term effects of his injuries and the trauma.
He has been unable to work and a civil claim for compensation began today at Hull County Court.
Mr Durrant was working at Willerby Holiday Homes in Hull when the incident occurred in July last year.
He told the court: ''I did not expect what I got that day and I did not deserve what I got that day.''
The court was told he was wiring a caravan and was working off the ground with two colleagues below him.
He said: ''I was just concentrating on doing my job and I just felt an absolute gush of wind blow through my anus.''
The court was told Daniel Robinson was holding the pressurised air hose - which hang from the ceiling and are used to connect to power tools on the production line - when Mr Durrant turned to him and told him not to pass it to colleague Adam Herring.
Mr Durrant, from Hull, added: ''I said to Daniel Robinson don't pass it to him (Adam Herring).
Asked why, he replied: ''He's a bit of a prankster. He's done a lot of pranks before, but nothing so serious.''
Michael Jones, who is representing Willerby Holiday Homes, said the injuries were caused by the ''foolish act of Mr Herring acting outside the course of his employment.''
Mr Jones asked Mr Durrant: ''Mr Herring's actions must have been deliberate, not that he set out to inflict serious injury on you, but in bringing the hose to your bottom, anus area, he must have being doing that deliberately to play a prank?
''Yes,'' Mr Durrant replied.
He was asked if he thought the actions of Mr Herring were ''extremely dangerous and foolish''.
''Looking back, yes'', Mr Durrant replied.
Mr Jones put it to him that there had been an ''air of joking going on'' in the moments before the prank took place.
''Yes,'' Mr Durrant replied.
etc...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... prank.html