An unemployed Austrian man who feared his jobless benefits would be cut off has sawn off his foot and thrown the remains in a furnace in a bid to render himself ineligible for work.
Hans Url, 56, was due to undergo a medical examination after job centre staff challenged his claim that he was too sick to work, the Daily Mail reports
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Mr Url reportedly waited until his wife and son left his home in Mitterlabill, southern Austria, on Monday and placed his leg on a circular saw, severing it above the ankle.
Before calling an ambulance, Mr Url threw his foot in a furnace to eliminate any chance the appendage could be reattached.
Paramedics arrived to find Mr Url near death from loss of blood.
Mr Url was then airlifted to Graz where he was in a stable condition following emergency surgery to seal the wound.
The next day he was transferred to the psychiatric unit of the hospital in Graz.
His wife Monika told an Austrian newspaper her husband had expressed regret over the incident.
"He apologized to me and told me how sorry he was," Ms Url said.
"He wants to work, but gets nothing suitable … my husband felt so worthless."
Mr Url has been unemployed, with brief stints of work, since 2003.
In 2010 he spent 11 days in a Graz psychiatric unit.
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