AN 11-YEAR-OLD boy has undergone surgery to reattach his thumb after it was blown off by a firework.

James Gill, of the Grangetown area of Middlesbrough, picked up the firework from waste ground on Sunday only for it to explode in his hand.

His thumb was left hanging by a thread of skin and an artery and he needed six hours of intricate surgery.

James was also partially blinded by the large firework, known as an onion bomb.

He needed treatment to clean his eyes, and spent three nights in Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital.

Yesterday, it emerged that James had picked up what he thought was a home-made firework on waste ground at Bolckow Road and thrown it in a fire. He later went back to pick it up and it was then it exploded in his hand.

A spokesman for the hospital said it took six hours to reattach all the nerves.

He could easily have lost the thumb altogether or have been permanently blinded.

His thumb will be affected, but he will still be able to use it.

Police have warned members of the public to be careful when using fireworks.