A FORMER Marine nearly died after he drilled into an electric cable.

Fencer Tom Sharp suffered second degree burns on his hands, arms and face after the incident at Yarm Road Industrial Estate, in Darlington, last month.

The 49-year-old was using a pneumatic drill that pierced an underground cable he did not know was there.

Mr Sharp’s company, Treetops Garden and Fencing Construction, was building security fencing for Northgate Vehicle Sales, in Allington Way. His life was saved because he was wearing rubber boots and gloves.

Mr Sharp, a grandfather, spent a week in intensive care at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, and was released from hospital last week. He said: “I could have been killed. I have got off lightly. It could have been horrific.”

The Health and Safety Executive is investigating the incident, which happened on November 10.

Mr Sharp, from Oakenshaw, County Durham, said: “A blinding flash came out of the hole. I didn’t know whether I had hit a gas pipe; I just didn’t have a clue. It knocked me back.”

Still conscious, he did not at first realise the severity of his injuries as everyone around him looked on in horror.

He said: “People were staring at me like I was a freak show. My clothes were all black, my face was all burnt to the left hand side, my lips were stuck together and my left eye was closed.”

His wife, Christine, a care home manager in Darlington, with whom he has son Ben, 20, and daughter Cara, 24, said: “I got a phone call at work to say By Rachel Wearmouth rachel.wearmouth@nne.co.uk he had had an accident and when I heard he had gone through an electric cable, I didn’t know what to expect.

“I am just pleased to see him alive now, to be truthful.”

Mr Sharp said: “Burns are one of the worst injuries you can get for pain. I have had lots of broken bones and I have never been through that pain.”