A CONTENDER to be England’s strongest man had to pull out of his latest competition after dropping a 125kg weight on his big toe.

Strongman Mathew Heys, 33, from Burnley, was sitting in third place after three events but was forced to withdraw from the competition after dropping the weight.

The fourth event of the Elite Britain’s Strongest Man 2015 in Billingham involved loading two 125kg kegs and a 130kg sack onto a four-and-a-half foot platform.

The top six strongmen from the competition qualify for the Arnold World Amateur Strongman Championships next year in the USA.

The dad-of-two said he was distraught about what happened.

He said: “I got the first keg up no problem whatsoever, however, the second keg was a different story.

“I had it on the edge of the platform and went to stand it up and as I did that, the lip of the keg slipped off the edge of the platform.

“As it came down I tried to move my foot out the way and it didn’t go far back enough and it landed on my big toe.

“The pain was excruciating. I was hyperventilating and was given gas and air after almost going into shock.”

The Judgefields resident, who is originally from Manchester, was admitted to North Tees and Hartlepool hospital on Sunday afternoon and was operated on on Monday.

The toe was found to have been crushed and had split down the side as well as damaging the webbing in between his toe.

He was released on Tuesday after being kept in overnight for observations and returned home.

Mathew, who trains in Great Harwood, said: “To say it was an anti-climax is an understatement and I’m very disappointed with the injury.

“I fully believe that if I would have finished the competition I would have finished in the top three and qualified.”

Despite not completing all the events the strongman finished seventh out of 12 lifters and only missed out on a qualifying place by two points.

Looking to the future, Mathew said he needed time to think about what to do.

He said: “I won’t ever give up on the sport as I’ve put so much into it and love it dearly but I need to give the toe time to heal and to regain my confidence.

“I will be getting consultation on my foot very soon so I’ll know how long it will take to heal after then.

“It’s such a shame because it would have topped off a great year having taken part in 10 events and winning the Elite North of England’s Strongest Man Competition in June.”