Moment tree surgeon thought he was going to die
CCTV footage has revealed the moment a tree surgeon was electrocuted and thought he was going to die.
Joshua Pocknell, 26, was maintaining some hedges on a busy road near Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire shortly after midnight on 19 January 2024.
He suffered a powerful electric shock when the mobile lighting tower he was pushing touched an overhead power line. He said he could "hear the electricity" in his head before being rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
His employer, Upton Specialised Tree Services Ltd, was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £6,237 in costs at Bristol Magistrates' Court earlier after it was found to have failed to assess the dangers of overhead power lines.
"My whole body locked and I felt hot and cramping," Pocknell said, adding that a hole burnt through his arm and hip all the way to the bone.
"My injuries were complex and challenging and there were five or six different surgeons involved in my treatment," he added.
He returned home from hospital after five weeks, and has spoken about the lasting impact of the accident.
"I still experience considerable pain and strange bodily sensations, including nerve pain and itching," Pocknell said.
"This incident has torn the life from beneath me and I don't think I will be able to return to the job that I used to love."
'Lucky to be alive'
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found his employer failed to implement suitable control measures, such as barriers, instruction or training in operating the mobile lighting tower.
It also concluded that overhead power lines had not been properly assessed or controlled, particularly following the change to night time working requiring the use of a mobile lighting tower.
The company, of Horton Heath, Wimborne in Dorset, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 14 of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.
HSE inspector Tom Preston said Pocknell was "lucky to be alive".
"Work near overhead power lines should only be carried out where it can be done safely, following a suitable risk assessment, the use of barriers or safety zones, and proper training on the equipment being used," he said.
"In this case, a worker sustained severe injuries in a traumatic incident for all concerned that was entirely preventable."
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