Man loses his leg after shooting lawnmower full of explosives

Sheriff has warned that the legal explosive Tannerite is 'very dangerous'

A 23-year-old man has lost his leg after shooting a riding lawnmower packed with explosives at close range.

Footage shows David Presley, from Walton County, Georgia, firing high-powered bullets at the lawnmower until it explodes, knocking both Mr Presley and his friend filming him to the ground.

Reports from USA Today say that a flying piece of the lawnmower severed Mr Presley’s leg.

The lawnmower was filled with Tannerite, a branded legal explosive commonly used for firing practice.

Tannerite is relatively safe when used correctly: it is not flammable and only likely to explode when shot with a high-power bullet.

However, the lawnmower Mr Presley was shooting appeared to contain large amounts of the explosive and he was shooting from only 43 feet (13 metres) away.

Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman says that the ‘rule of thumb’ that says you need to be 100 yards (about 90 metres) away per pound of Tannerite in order to be safe.

Sheriff Chapman said: [Tannerite is] very dangerous, it’s not a toy. It’s much more than a firecracker.”

The sheriff told USA Today that he gets several complaints a week about Tannerite, mainly about the loud noise it makes when shot.

However, he said “I’m all for second amendment and gun rights and I’m all for people enjoying their constitutional right.

If I property owner has 20 or 30 acres of land they are well within their rights to discharge firearms or ignite Tannerite.”