Magician Paul Daniels has told how he accidentally sliced off the top of his finger with a circular saw.

The television personality said he was making props in his garden shed on New Year's Day when the block of wood leapt up, exposing his left hand to the blade.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: "The saw went right through my first finger, missed my middle one almost completely and took the top of my third one.

"How it missed the second finger is a trick in itself. The top of the third finger is all ground up and gone."

The entertainer, who lives in Berkshire, managed to stop the saw with his right hand and thrust his injured hand into his coat before running to his car and driving himself to hospital in Henley-on Thames.

He was later seen by plastic surgery specialists who saved his index finger, but were unable to save the top of his ring finger.

Although he initially feared for his career and is yet to regain full sensation in his digits, he is hopeful he will make a full recovery.

"I was very worried. They did a fantastic job. Everything's on the mend now," he told the newspaper.

The magician, who is due to go on tour next month, said he will have to "change my methods slightly" but his planned shows will still go ahead.

The 73-year-old appeared on the BBC1 show Strictly Come Dancing in 2010 and was the second contestant to be voted off.

He has also appeared on Celebrity Wife Swap with Debbie McGee, whom he married in 1988.