A 13-YEAR-OLD boy lost part of his finger while climbing over a railing.

And residents of Oban Drive joined forces and came out to help look for the finger end which was ferried to hospital in a bag of frozen sweetcorn.

Stephen Ashby, of Rothesay Road, Blackburn, was with his friends at the Operation Council compound in the Shadsworth area at around 7pm last night.

A neighbour, Debbie Chapman, said: "Stephen ran past the house opposite to me and another neighbour, Louise grabbed him because his nose was bleeding.

"She then realised that he'd lost his finger.

"She came and asked me to phone for the ambulance.

"After the ambulance left we all went out and helped to look for the finger end. Firemen came out to get into the site but I found the finger just outside the wall."

Steven was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary and his finger was taken to the hospital in a bag of frozen sweetcorn.

He is in the children's ward and was due to undergo an operation on his finger this morning.

"There was quite a crowd of people out helping to look," said leading firefighter at Blackburn Phil Emmett. "It seemed that he had been climbing over the wall and not gripped onto the top properly."

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