A CROWD of horrified passers-by gathered at the door of a popular restaurant after a worker staggered from the kitchen with four fingers missing.

Word of the accident quickly spread to neighbouring shops and offices as the man sat stunned, and holding what remained of his hand, at the Wood Oven in George Lane, South Woodford on Friday.

A doctor from the nearby surgery in Glebelands Avenue dashed over to treat the man, and paramedics and police reached the Turkish restaurant soon after.

Jack Goldsmith, 17, was on his way home from his job at Fiori’s Greengrocer’s at around 10.50am when he saw the drama unfold.

He said: “I asked someone what was going on and he said ‘I think there’s been an accident’.

“I looked into the shop and saw a gentleman sitting there with his hand in the air – he had four fingers missing.

“It was gruesome, there was bone sticking out and blood everywhere.

“He was sitting there as if nothing had happened and must have been in shock. There was another man in the there on the phone in a blind panic.

“Just standing in the doorway I could taste the blood in the back of my throat, it was horrific.”

Don Algama, 37, who works at the post office across the road from the Wood Oven said: “There were a lot of people outside and I looked to see what was going on.

“A young boy came out of the shop and walked past me with tears streaming down his face.

“He had obviously seen something very disturbing and looked in total shock.”

Another trader, who did not want to be named, hurried over to see what was happening.
“I wish I hadn’t,” he said.

“Because it was like something from a horror movie in there.

“The guy had his hand cut off to the knuckles and was just sitting there staring blankly.”

The restaurant was closed over the weekend but, when asked about the incident, a man who would only identify himself as Fethi, denied anything had happened, saying they had only closed their doors to redecorate.

But when the Guardian presented staff with confirmation from the emergency services, Ahmed Tofon, who works at the Wood Oven, said a relative of his had been involved in an incident.

“He was making some sauce and just cut his finger slightly, but he’s fine now,” he added.

The man, thought by paramedics to be in his 40s, was treated at the scene, before being taken by ambulance to Whipps Cross Hospital.

A spokeswoman for Redbridge Council said: “Health and Safety officers from the Council attended an accident at this premises September 14.

"The restaurant owner agreed to close over the weekend while work, to make the equipment and affected areas involved in the accident safe, were undertaken to make sure it was suitable to reopen to the public.

"An officer inspected the premises before it reopened on Monday and was satisfied all the necessary work had been carried out. No further action is envisaged by the Council in respect of the incident."

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