A gamekeeper has told how he cheated death after being crushed by a two tonne tree – by cutting himself free using a CHAINSAW.
Kieron Robbins, 34, was left desperately screaming for help in the middle of woodland after the 90ft tall Ash fell on his legs at 10.30am last Tuesday (8/8).
But as his phone was in his pocket that was stuck under the tree, he had no option but to carefully hack himself free with the tool as he drifted in and out of consciousness.
Kieron spent several minutes slicing through the chunk with the chainsaw to relieve the pressure on his limbs before managing to crawl to safety and call for help.
His friends who were nearby managed to raise the alarm and paramedics dashed to scene in Abberley, Worcs.
Kieron was taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital where doctors found he had broken his ankle in two places and he returned home following surgery on on Friday morning (11/8) .
Kieron, of Abberley, who works as a part-time gamekeeper and also as a gardener, said he had been trying to cut the tree down because as it was blocking a path.
But when he tried to saw through the wood it snapped and slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.
He added: “The tree flew back like a boomerang. It hit me in the chest.
“If that tree came up another half a foot it would have killed me.
“I was cutting through the tree and cutting through it and cutting through it and the next thing I knew it hit me in the chest and I flew 6ft backwards.
“I was screaming for help in the middle of the wood but no one knew I was there.
“All of the tree’s weight was on my left leg.
“If that chainsaw wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be here. Luckily enough the saw was to hand. I’m a very lucky boy.
“Instinct kicked in and I got the saw. I started the saw as close as I could to the leg to take the pressure off. It got stuck a couple of times but brute force kicked in.
“I have been using chainsaws since I was 18 so that part of it was fine – it was just a normal cross-cut but I was in a lot of pain and shock.
“I had my two springer spaniels, Teal and Snipe, with me… the one dog to my right shoulder was pawing me every two seconds, saying, you know, ‘come on boss get up’.
“I have got a broken ankle in two places and my left leg is black and blue.
“In a week’s time I will have the stitches taken out.
“The doctors say that at Christmas time I will still know my ankle is not quite right.
“It’s going to be a while before I’m fully recovered because I tore ligaments in my left leg.
“When I walked through the hospital the doctors were saying ‘your pain threshold must be very high.’
“After the tree trapped my legs it took me a good four to five minutes to use the chainsaw.
“I couldn’t call anyone because my phone was in my left pocket which was trapped under the tree so there was only one thing I could do.
“I got one of the landowners out and his wife is a nurse.
“She phoned the stuff and another five minutes after the first response came and then another five minutes after that the paramedics came down.
“I couldn’t fault the emergency services, a lot of thanks goes to them.”
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “When ambulance staff arrived, they were greeted by friends of the man at a rendezvous point on Stud Lane who used their own 4×4 vehicle to take the team into the woods.
“The man was approximately a mile away from the property which was treacherous underfoot and inaccessible by ambulance.
“Once with the patient, ambulance staff found a man who had been pinned underneath a tree by his legs.
“Luckily, the man had managed to use his chainsaw to cut the tree into pieces to release himself.
“He was given pain relief to help ease his discomfort before the team worked to immobilised him with a multi-integrated body-splint stretcher which is made of tough fabric and has carry handles to help lift and move a patient.
“The team carried the man up an embankment to the awaiting helicopter, which had landed nearby, before he was airlifted to Worcestershire Royal Hospital.
“Given the nature of the incident, the man was incredibly lucky not to have suffered more serious injuries.”
