A FACTORY worker who suffered horrific injuries in an explosion at work has told how he is determined to get on with life the best he can despite losing both legs.

Clive Dainty, of Kidderminster, has had to get used to a new life in a wheelchair following the life-changing accident, which left him with severe multiple injuries, two years ago.

The courageous 51-year-old was carrying out an air pressure test on a large metal vessel at Filtration Services Engineering Ltd, on Kidderminster’s Oldington Trading Estate, when the lid blew off, catapulting him across the room.

The company was fined £30,000 during a court hearing last Friday.

As well as losing both legs in the blast, Mr Dainty suffered a brain haemorrhage, fractures to his hands and arms and a torn artery.

His injuries were so bad he was treated in the same critical ward, at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, as military casualties injured in Afghanistan.

“I had worse injuries than some of the soldiers,” said Mr Dainty.

“I can’t remember anything about the accident. My first memory was waking up in hospital.

“It was strange, because of all the drugs I was on. It really didn’t hit me at the time,” he explained.

Mr Dainty, who spent seven weeks in a coma and just under a year in hospital, said he had warned factory bosses they “weren’t geared up” for air pressure testing, adding: “They still insisted on it being done and this is the outcome.”

As a result, his once-active life spent golfing and playing darts is now taken up by hospital appointments and being fitted for false legs. He currently has stubbies – above the knee prosthetic legs.

Mr Dainty’s three-year relationship also broke down while he was in hospital.

“It’s been a learning curve – a lot of hard work,” said Mr Dainty, who suffered his first seizure last Friday. “It’s really strange being in a wheelchair but I’m getting there, bit by bit.”

He added that despite the accident leaving him suffering regular severe headaches, he was not an gry with the family firm, but believed it “deserved a bigger fine”.

“Being that way isn’t going to solve anything,” he said. “It’s just a case of getting on with life the best you can. I’m not as confident. I have low self-esteem– it’s just the way people stare at you. I’ve just got to get on with it.”