The man was tracked down nearly two weeks after removing his ankle tag while on parole.

Authorities in the Australian town of Gympie, in Queensland, said he had a gaping wound and severe bone infection from removing the tag.

Police prosecutors Lisa Manns told The Gympie Times the injury was “consistent with using a heat source to burn through the electronic monitoring device”.

The man has pleaded guilty on a charge of wilfully damaging an electronic device.

Judge Chris Callaghan, presiding over the trial, told him: “You are paying the price for your stupidity.”