Heartfelt tributes have been paid to an "exceptionally special" Suffolk grandfather who died after an industrial accident, as an inquest was held into his death.
Stephen Corke, known as Steve, died on August 17, 2018 after emergency surgery at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds.
Suffolk Coroners' Court heard on Friday how the chisel end of a Kango drill landed on the 60-year-old's right foot on August 14 while he was working at a construction site in Kent.
He was taken to Tunbridge Wells Hospital the next day, but returned to work the following morning before being driven by a colleague to his Great Cornard home in the evening.
Giving evidence at the inquest, Mr Corke's wife Gillian said she knew "straight away he was in a bad way" as she saw blood blisters on his legs.
Benjamin Corke, Mr Corke's son, described the blisters as "sausage-like" and of "horrifying colours".
The inquest heard how Mr Corke was diagnosed with compartment syndrome at West Suffolk Hospital and surgeons amputated his swollen leg - but he died shortly after.
A post-mortem examination found Mr Corke had contracted sepsis.
Mrs Corke questioned why her husband, a grandfather of seven, was sent away from Tunbridge Wells Hospital as it gave him a "false sense of security about his condition".
She said she was "angry as Steve didn't have to die" and argued there were "points in the chain where it could have been prevented".
Paying tribute to her husband, Mrs Corke said: "Steve was what I would consider a fit and active 60-year-old. He was a caring and considerate father, grandfather and husband. He was a family man.
"If Steve had survived with only one leg, he wouldn't let it define him. We all think he would have installed Bluetooth technology for a prosthetic leg."
Mr Corke described his father as "someone who enjoyed life to the full" and "not a man who had hit 60 and settled for a life in front of the TV".
He added: "This is not just a family who has lost someone who was exceptionally special, but a man who has lost his life."
The inquest, held before a 10-person jury, is to continue into next week.
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