A deep sea diver has been awarded more than £750,000 in compensation after losing a leg when he was crushed by a giant underwater hammer.

Allan Peacock, 55, was injured while working underwater off the coast of India in 2011.

A heavy pile, which acts like a hammer to nail another into the seabed, unexpectedly moved, sucking him between the two pieces of equipment and crushing his foot.

Mr Peacock was able to drag himself away before receiving treatment in India and in Newcastle after flying home, but ended up having to have a below-knee amputation.

With efforts described as “quite exceptional” by a surgeon, Mr Peacock was back working underwater within 18 months, with the help of a special prosthetic leg.

Now, after suing at the High Court, he has been awarded £765,866 in compensation from his former employer, the Indian company Del Seatek India Private Limited. He had already received around £169,000 from the operator of the barge on which he was working.