A MAN who had to cut himself free with a chainsaw after a falling tree landed on him has been ‘incredibly lucky’ to have escaped serious injury.
West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to an area of woodland near Stud Lane, Abberley, at 12.50pm yesterday (Tuesday), where they found a man in his 30s who had suffered leg injuries after a tree had fallen on him.
He was initially pinned underneath the tree by his legs, but had managed to use his chainsaw to cut the tree into pieces to release himself.
An ambulance, a paramedic officer, a community first responder, the Trust’s Hazardous Area Response Team paramedics and the Midlands Air Ambulance from Strensham attended the scene, where the man was put on a body-splint stretcher and carried up an embankment, before being airlifted to Worcestershire Royal Hospital by helicopter.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “When ambulance staff arrived, they were greeted by friends of the man 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 was conscious and breathing and had sustained leg injuries. He was given pain relief to help ease his discomfort before the team worked to immobilise him with a multi-integrated body-splint stretcher.
“The team then 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.”
