Gamekeeper pinned by a falling tree frees himself with chainsaw
A GAMEKEEPER left trapped under a two-ton tree cheated death after managing to cut himself free with a chainsaw. Kieron Robbins was stranded in woodland a mile from the nearest property when the 90ft ash fell.
It pinned his legs to the forest floor and left his mobile phone out of reach in a trouser pocket.
The partially fallen tree had been blocking a path so Mr Robbins, 34, tried to saw through it but the wood snapped and slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. He was saved from death after managing to reach the chainsaw that had landed him in the predicament in the first place.
Mr Robbins told yesterday how he spent three minutes cutting through sections of the trunk until he finally managed to free himself and call the landowner for help.
After being found in the dense, hilly woodland, he was airlifted to hospital where doctors found he had broken his right ankle in two places. His left leg – which took the weight of the tree – was ‘black and blue’ and suffered torn ligaments. Mr Robbins, who lives close to the woods at Abberley, Worcestershire, said: ‘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 screaming for help in the middle of the wood but no one knew I was there. 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 was in a lot of pain and in shock.’
Mr Robbins, who has been using chainsaws since the age of 18, added: ‘If that chainsaw hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here. I’m a very lucky boy.’ After freeing himself and retrieving his phone from his left pocket, Mr Robbins called landowner Richard Jeavons-Fellows, who lives with his wife Sally, a trained intensive care nurse, on the 120-acre estate.
She was the first to reach Mr Robbins and checked his vital signs as paramedics headed to the scene on August 8. He spent three days in hospital.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: ‘The man was approximately a mile away from the property and it was treacherous underfoot and inaccessible by ambulance. He was incredibly lucky not to have suffered more serious injuries.’