It's the stuff of nightmares. You're working with a chainsaw 50 metres in the air when you lose your footing and slip straight into the running blade.

Most of us can't imagine how 21-year-old Tom Connelly felt when this happened to him, but thankfully the tree surgeon from Bedfordshire survived the horrifying ordeal.

Mr Connelly had been working high up on a branch when his boot skidded, causing him to fall into the blade, which sliced through his neck.

Incredibly, the accident severed more than one-third of his neck but stopped just one millimetre short of his carotid artery.

After screaming for help, the 21-year-old's colleagues came to his aid and placed Mr Connelly's hand across his throat to keep hold of his head.

"I later realised I'd nearly cut my head off, so I am incredibly lucky to be here today," he says.

Medics at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge – one of the UK's top healthcare establishments – gave Mr Connelly emergency treatment that saved his life.

And the incident hasn't put him off his day job, as the victim plans to return to his tree surgeon duties once he's fully recovered.

Posted by Trevor Smith
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