Tom has been left with a 15-inch scar

The cut was so big the medics could see the top of my rib cage.

Tom Connelly was 50ft up a tree when he slipped.

He cut a third of the way into his throat and severed his jugular vein. He lost half the blood in his body.

Tom survived by holding his head in place to reduce the loss of blood while he waited for medics to arrive.

He said: “Doctors reckoned I was just 1mm away from cutting through my carotid artery which would have killed me.

“The cut was so big the medics could see the top of my rib cage. I went into shock, but the adrenaline kicked in so I didn’t actually feel any pain.

“I screamed for help and my colleagues quickly got me out of the tree. My friend Rob told me to put my hand across my throat and hold on to my head. I later realised I’d nearly cut my head off. I’m incredibly lucky to be here today.”

His life was saved by workmates and the Magpas Helimedix flying doctor team in Cambridgeshire.

Dr James French, one of the rescue team, said: “He would have died from the blood loss within three minutes if everyone hadn’t acted so quickly to stem the flow.”

Tom, 21, who was removing a horse chestnut tree from a garden near Guyhirn, Cambs, with three colleagues, has taken three months to recover and has a 15-inch scar.

He is expected to regain 90% use of his arm after slicing through nerves in his shoulder.

He is back at work, contracting for The BTS Group based in Suffolk, and intends to return to tree-cutting.
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