AN amputee from Barrow is using his painful experience to help others going through the same emotional ordeal as he did after losing a limb.

Mark Ardron has started a unique project at Furness General Hospital by visiting patients who have just had a life-changing operation, offering them support and guidance.

The 53-year-old lost his left leg after peripheral vascular disease caused his arteries to narrow and then have a heart attack in 2005.

After years of grieving for his missing limb, Mr Ardron joined Imagine Independence, a charity in Barrow which supports people with disabilities or extra needs, and from there he has taken up the incredibly rewarding role at FGH.

The job involves him meeting people on the wards who have been transferred to the Barrow hospital after undergoing an amputation at specialist sites around the region such as Preston and Manchester.

He volunteers every Wednesday for a few hours.

Mr Ardron said: "I work on the wards dealing with a small number of people that have gone through what I have gone through. It started out as a trial basis but it's going well.

"I talk to them and they can relate to me as I've gone through the same thing.

"They don't remove limbs at Barrow. They go to places like Preston.

"After the operation they move them back here and that's when I get involved. They get sent to me.

"The first thing they say is 'how did I lose my leg? Why me?'

"It's like grief, you are mourning the loss of your limb."

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Mr Ardron says it is crucial for people who have lost a limb to know there is somebody there to talk to, whether or not they want to straight away.

He believes doctors can only go so far in helping an amputee in medical and physical terms, but his role is much more about how to cope with daily life.

He said: "I have had people that have been in there long-term. It brightens them up a bit when I come into the ward.

"It's once you get the conversation going with them that they will tell you about their life and I can help. I have got to find a connection.

"They don't come out with how they lost their leg. It takes time and trust.

"My goal is to support them through the NHS."

The reason why Mr Ardron, who is a keen archer with the Bowmen of Furness, wanted to volunteer his skills was to stop others going through the emotional upheaval and isolation that he went through.

He said: "When it happened to me, I had nobody to talk so I felt lost. It's frightening.

"When I lost my leg, I never went out of the house for two years."

Mr Ardron ultimately hopes to set up a drop-in group at FGH to offer regular support.