Grateful Malcolm Copeland miraculously escaped losing a limb in a horrific car accident – thanks to his trusty work boots.
The hard-working father-of-two has lived in steel reinforced Dickies work boots since he got his first pair aged 18 – and even wears them for weddings and family dos.
Luckily for the 49-year-old, he was wearing them on the evening of July 21 this year when he and fiancee, primary school teacher Joanne Crowther, were on their way home from visiting family in John O’Groats.
Excavation worker Malcolm suffered devastating leg injuries when he was hit by a slow-moving car.
But doctors told him that had he not been wearing such strong boots he would certainly have lost his left foot.
Malcolm said: “It really is miraculous, if I had not have wearing those boots I would have lost my foot.
“You just have to look at the difference between the state of my leg and see how my foot has escaped relatively unscathed to see how they saved me.”
Speaking from his home in Thorne, Doncaster, South Yorks., he said: “We were running out of diesel and kept putting off filling up – saying we’ll go to the next petrol station.
“We ended up running out just a couple of minutes away from getting to petrol station at about 11.30pm, and were parked in an industrial estate in Dumfries, which I think seems to be popular with boy racers.
“I had to get out of the car and was walking to the petrol station when Jo called me back to say I’d forgotten the container.
“As I was walking back to our car another car pulled up alongside Jo and a young lad was asking if she was okay.
“She told him she was and she was even talking to me. At that point I was at the side of the car and it set off, running over my foot and leg with front wheel.”
Malcolm fell back and banged his head on the floor – before the force of the wheel flipped Malcolm over onto his back and the car’s back wheel then ran over his leg.
His left foot then got caught in the back wheel and he was dragged some yards up the road.
Malcolm said: “The young lad said he didn’t see me but I didn’t know how that happened.
“I was right at the side of him. I slammed my hands on the bonnet of his car as he went over my foot with his front wheel and he still carried on, doing further damage with the back.”
Horrified fiancee Jo watched the horrific accident unfold before her eyes as she saw him flipped backwards and dragged up the road.
She said: “I saw what I thought was a traffic cone being thrown into the air.
“When it landed on the road I realised it was Malcolm.
“I watched in shock as he was then being dragged by the left foot up the hill. I ran to him, put him in the recovery position and fended off the gathering crowd.”
Locals had started to crowd round as an ambulance attended the scene and rushed Malcolm to nearby Dumfries and Galloway hospital where medics were astounded that his foot had survived.
The surgeon at the hospital, Amanda Hawkins, an orthopaedic specialist said: “Had it not been for the strength of the footwear, his foot would have been pulled off in the accident. It is quite remarkable.”
At one point they thought he might lose his leg but they managed to save it after staying a month in hospital and having four operations to save it.
He now has his lower left leg in a cage, which he will have to keep on for another five months before it is anywhere near healing.
Malcolm said: “This is killing me because I need to get out and work. I can’t stand not being able to work.
“But I have think how lucky I am. I am so grateful for my Dickies boots, but I really love my Dickies, I do see them as my lucky boots.
“I wear them all the time because if I’m not at work I’m generally out in the garage tinkering with something. I do live in them.
“They are a great brand and look good and are affordable and last for years. I’m always in the overalls too – though I don’t wear these for special occasions.
“I have had a few close calls on building sites and the Dickies have saved my feet.
“It goes to show how important a decent pair of work boot are.
“Jo was always complaining that she wanted me to put a smarter pair of shoes on but I’m thinking that now she’ll let me wear them.”
Malcolm is expected to make a full recovery.
Malcolm was wearing size nine Dickie’s Fife dealer boots, which retail on the Dickie’s website at £62.95.
They boast steel protection within the toe caps and midsoles, the outsoles are made from strong nitrile rubber and are heat resistant to 300 degrees.
Malcolm has kept hold of his old boots, which have not suffered so much outer damage, but have been bent in the middle of the sole.
He says he is currently pursuing a compensation claim against the 22-year-old driver after police decided not to prosecute.
Carl Holder, Regional Sales Manager at Dickies said: “Malcolm suffered terrible injuries when he was hit by a car and we are delighted to hear that our Dickies Fife Dealer safety Boot saved his foot from amputation.
“We wish him a quick recovery and will of course be sending Malcolm a free pair so he can continue his everyday life knowing he will always be protected.”
A spokesperson from Dumfries and Galloway Police said: “On Thursday 21 July 2016 a road traffic collision happened near to the Tesco filling station at Cuckoo Bridge, Dumfries involving a Renault Clio car being driven by a 22 year old man from Dumfries and a 49 year old male pedestrian from Doncaster.
“The pedestrian was removed by ambulance to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary where he was treated for leg fractures.
“The driver of the car was uninjured.”
