A MAN with a fractured back was sent home by doctors who missed a second break, it is claimed.

Peter Johnson, 26, was rushed to the Royal Blackburn Hospital after an horrific motorbike accident left him in agonising pain.

But, after being discharged on crutches, doctors in Burnley discovered a second break in his spine and sent him back to Blackburn where he was hospitalised for a week.

Dad-of-one Mr Johnson, of Derwent Avenue, Padiham, said he was “gutted” by the level of care he had received.

And his mum Julie, who works as a nurse in a Burnley retirement home, is ready to complain to hospital bosses about the mistake.

Mr Johnson said: “I was riding my motorbike near my home when I hit the kerb and came off.

“My back was really hurting, I could hardly breathe and I was screaming in pain.”

Mr Johnson, who lives with girlfriend Sonia Grant, 26, and five-year-old daughter Olivia, was given an x-ray by doctors in Blackburn and told he had a broken bone in his spine.

“They looked me over, sent me home, told me to do plenty of walking and told me get some rest,” he added.

“But then when I went for my appointment at the fracture clinic in Burnley, they told me there were two breaks – one of which they had missed at Blackburn.”

Mr Johnson was sent back to hospital for a week before being discharged.

He is now waiting for doctors at Blackburn and the Royal Preston Hospital to decide whether he will need an operation on his fractures and other bruised bones in his spine.

But in the meantime, Mr Johnson has been left in crippling pain, wearing a back brace, and not knowing if he will be able to return to work as a window cleaner.

He said: “I really don’t know if I will make a full recovery and it is awful not knowing if I will work again.

“At the moment, I cannot sleep with all the pain. I am on 20 tablets a day, from morning to night and when I move around it is constant pain.

“I am just gutted about all this.”

Mrs Johnson, 46, said: “This has been so traumatic. The level of care at Blackburn was appalling, although doctors at Burnley did everything they could.”

She has drawn up a lengthy document to send to hospital bosses outlining their complaints.

Peter Weller, from East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We would like to apologise to Mr Johnson and his family if they feel he did not receive a high level of care during his time at Royal Blackburn Hospital.

“It is vital that Mr Johnson and his family get in touch with us so that we can carry out a full investigation.”