SURGEONS have operated to remove the leg of a rugby player who was seriously injured in a crash on the A19.

Shaun Austerfield, 35, was walking home with a friend from a night out in York on December 23 when he was struck by a grey Land Rover Discovery in a lay-by on the A19 near Deighton.

The Selby RUFC player, who has a 14-month-old daughter, Kiera, with his girlfriend, Collette, suffered serious head injuries, a collapsed lung and a badly damaged left leg.

Doctors at York Hospital desperately fought to save his leg – but on New Year’s Day it reached the point where it had to be amputated above the knee to save Shaun’s life.

Shaun’s father, Philip, of Barlby, near Selby, said: “The surgeon phoned us in the morning to say he had deteriorated overnight and it was either Shaun or his leg.

“He’s not coping very well. I don’t think he has accepted it yet. He won’t talk about it. He’s still in shock.”

His mother, Sharon, said: “We will get there by just taking it one day at a time to get over the hurdles one by one.

“I’m gutted for him, but we’ve still got our Shaun and that’s the main thing.”

She said she wanted to thank staff at York Hospital for everything they had done to try to save her son’s leg. “The doctors and nurses have been absolutely fantastic,” she said. “They have done everything possible for him.”

Philip said the amputation would end Shaun’s career as a rugby player, but he hoped his son would still be able to coach.

As well as playing rugby union for Selby, Shaun has also played rugby league for York Wasps, Selby Warriors and Heworth, and recently started working as a coach with Selby RUFC.

About 100 to 150 players and spectators attended the club’s annual Boxing Day event, despite the match being cancelled, to find out the latest on Shaun’s condition.

Philip, whose son works as a stonemason, said: “We don’t know if he’s still going to be able to do his work, but obviously that’s at the back of our thoughts at the moment. We just want to get him out of bed.”