A CHEF helped to save the life of a man who suffered a horrific cut to his arm.

The 49-year-old victim, known only as Kevin, had a deep laceration to his left wrist which was spraying blood up to 12 feet in the air in Alexandra Road, Southend.

He was seen staggering down the street at about 8pm on Tuesday with blood gushing from the wound, leaving a trail on the floor and high above doorways.

Onlookers watched in horror as the man, who was clearly distressed, smeared his blood on shop windows and banged against the glass.

He was eventually punched in the face by a man, who then fled the scene.

Luke Circus, a chef at San Fairie Ann, told how when he saw the commotion his first aid training kicked in.

The 25-year-old said: “He was sitting on the floor slumped over, blood was absolutely everywhere.

“There were a lot of people standing around doing nothing. I ran over and laid him down, put his legs straight and his arm above his heart.

“I asked him his name and what had happened. I checked his airways and made sure his eyes were alright.

“I bandaged it up because it was a very deep cut and put pressure on the wound. You could see down to the bone, it was gory.”

Mr Circus said he understood the man might have cut his arm by punching the window of a house in nearby Devereux Road.

He said more people should be first aid trained because the injury could easily have proved fatal. “He was losing a lot of blood,” he said.

But Mr Circus said the serious incident took a bizarre turn when the police arrived. He said: “As he was walking along he was waving his arm and the blood was literally spraying everywhere, like something from a Tarantino movie.

“He had been banging on shop windows and it seems that someone hit him and knocked him to the floor.

“There was a woman with him who was running around screaming. While the police are standing there she has taken her top off and jumped on the police car. I don’t know what she was on.”

An Essex Police spokesman said: “Police received reports that a man had injured his hand after breaking a window in Devereux Road, Southend.

“Following the incident the man got into an argument with another man. He was then punched and knocked to the ground and his attacker left the scene.

“He has been described as white of skinny build with brown hair, wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans.

“A 49-year-old man from Leigh was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and was taken to hospital for a hand injury.”

The man was discharged and released on police bail to appear on Tuesday, August 15.”