A skilled craftsman is wowing customers by carving intricate items and works of art out of lumps of wood despite being BLIND - using his senses of touch and smell. Chris Fisher, 52, is the UK's only completely blind professional woodturner after taking up the hobby when he lost his sight 14 years ago. The former engineer was aged just 39 when he started to go blind over a period of four weeks due to a parasitic infection called toxoplasmosis. Chris began honing his craft by listening to more than 600 hours of YouTube videos and capitalised upon other heightened senses to begin creating wooden objects. Using a lathe and other handheld tools, the horror film fan began by making himself a vampire stake and progressed onto more intricate and colourful pieces. He became a professional and accredited woodturner in 2018 after mastering the ancient craft which can be traced back thousands of years to around 1,300 B.C. Chris now teaches the skill to children with disabilities and has become a Youtube sensation sharing his stunning creations with thousands of followers. The married dad-of-one says the images form in his mind as he feels his way around despite working with dangerous machinery and razor-sharp blades. His fingertips are also so sensitive he can detect the minute difference after the wood has been sprayed with fine paint purely by touch. He also relies on auditory clues to reassure him that the piece of going according to plan and can identify different types of wood solely by their smell. Chris, of Hulland Ward, Derbys., said he first decided to try his hand at woodturning because he wanted to make a vampire stake as a Halloween prop.