A Bradford dad-of-two was blinded when a bungee cord he was using to tie up a deckchair sprang open and hit him in the eye.

The accident happened when Dennis Goldsmith, 34, was tidying up the garage at his home in Tyersal Lane.

He had just used the hooked elastic cord to wrap round the large deckchair when the rope's fasteners flipped open and caught him in the left eye.

The force of it threw him across the floor and because he could not see, he had to crawl on his hands and knees out of the garage to the back of the house where he banged on windows for help. His wife Michelle, also 34, said: "I heard his banging on the glass and could see he was hurt. He had his hand over his eye and the blood was just coming straight through his fingers.

"He was in shock and terrible pain. He didn't dare take his hand away because he thought his eye had been ripped out. Our eldest daughter Katie was at home and it really effected her seeing her dad in such a state."

Mrs Goldsmith called for an ambulance and paramedics took him to Bradford Royal Infirmary where he was seen by eye surgeons.

"His eye was haemorrhaging. They could see one cut on his eye lid and two cuts on the eyeball itself but they were worried about the damage at the back of the eye. A few days later, once the swelling had gone down, the doctors were able to have a proper look and said the retina was detached and they needed to operate.

"We were told he would lose his sight for good if they didn't. That news was a complete blow because we actually thought his eye was improving."

The operation to re-attach his retina and hopefully restore his sight was scheduled for today and it is likely he will have to return for further surgery.

Mrs Goldsmith added: "It was a freak accident but lots of people use these ropes they call bungee cords. They're useful but dangerous things. We wanted people to know what had happened to Dennis because we'd hate it to happen to anyone else.

"We've been told by surgeons that once the retina is re-attached he should hopefully get back his left eyesight - and if not all of it, most of it."

Every year about 2.8 million people in the UK go to hospital as a result of accidents in the home but a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said Mr Goldsmith's was the first case of its kind he had heard of.

The spokesman added: "Just because we haven't heard of a case like this before, doesn't mean they don't happen. They could be more common than we think."