Finger severed in accident, not in assault as claimed

AN ENGLISH teenager who said he lost his finger in an attack on St Patrick's Day in Dublin severed it while attempting to climb over a fence, gardaí said yesterday.

Guy Wallace (17) from Somerset claimed his finger was ripped off when he was assaulted in Dublin city centre.

Gardaí found the A-level student distressed and missing a digit near O'Connell Street on St Patrick's night. The young man was taken to hospital and despite an extensive search by gardaí, his finger was not found.

After the incident, he told RTÉ radio that the attack began when he passed about five young men who asked him where he was from, to which he replied: "England". Gardaí said they wanted to speak to Mr Wallace again because there were differences between what he had claimed on radio and what he had said to gardaí.

CCTV footage in which Mr Wallace could be seen running towards a fence on a laneway near O'Connell Street was analysed during the Garda investigation.

It shows him attempting to climb the fence, before falling off. It is understood his finger became caught on the serrated metal fence and was severed at that point. Gardaí subsequently recovered it following a search of the area near Britain Place in the north inner city.

Mr Wallace underwent surgery on his hand at the Mater hospital following the incident. Last week he said he would be seeking a prosthetic replacement on his return to England.

A Garda spokesman said investigations were continuing regarding a minor assault involving the teenager which took place earlier on March 17th around O'Connell Street. It is understood Mr Wallace was head-butted outside a fast-food restaurant when he separated from his friends to go to an ATM. He had travelled to Ireland as part of a group to celebrate a friend's birthday.

Mr Wallace's parents William and Lucy said their son genuinely believed he lost his finger in an assault. They said their son was shaken enough to link the event with the accident which took place several minutes later.

"On the night of the 17th of March, Guy had split up from his friends, he was lost and very frightened after suffering an assault in a fast-food restaurant where he received a head butt," they said.

"Due to this assault he was sufficiently traumatised to link the event with the terrible accident that took place minutes later and genuinely believed that he had lost his finger in that assault.

"However, in reality it seems that during his panic-stricken run from the incident, he attempted to climb a metal fence, which resulted in the loss of his finger."

Mr and Mrs Wallace said they wanted to concentrate now on ensuring "Guy's recovery from this terrible ordeal".