A dad went to collect his nine-month-old daughter from nursery after a minor 'nick', only to discover that she had severed her finger and nursery staff had not realised until they discovered it on the floor.
Pavel Dedek, 37, turned up at the private £900-a-month crèche to discover his daughter Sophie with her hand wrapped in a blood-soaked towel and part of her finger in a cup of ice.
Staff allegedly failed to realise she had lost 1cm of her fingertip until someone spotted it on the floor while they were cleaning, according to the Daily Mail.
An ambulance was not on its' way so he rushed her to A&E himself, where despite a two-and-a-half hour operation surgeons could not reattach the top of her digit which had been cut at the second joint.
Mr Dedek, an estate agent, and his wife Jana, 31, are demanding compensation for their daughter who may be maimed for life. The couple are planning to sue so that Sophie can have plastic surgery on the finger when she is 18. She is likely to find some tasks including playing instruments more difficult.
He said: "When I spoke to them on the phone, they said she had just nicked her finger. I thought I would just be picking her up and putting a plaster on it. I arrived to find Sophie's hand wrapped in a towel, and next to her a cup with the remains of her finger in it."
She was on her second taster day at Kids 1st Day Nursery in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne when the accident happened on January 4.
It is believed that nurse did not notice that she had crawled up behind her when she opened a door to put something in a bin and turned back to see Sophie crying.
Her father was called in to collect her, it is reported, and four minutes later as staff cleaned the floor they found the piece of severed finger. The nursery manager is said to have called 999 before the discovery and been told an ambulance was not necessary.
A nursery spokesman said staff acted swiftly, the correct first aid was swiftly implemented, all health and safety procedures were followed and the relevant authorities were informed.
The nursery has been rated outstanding by Ofsted, who are now investigating the incident.