WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT: Joshua Pocknell, 26, was performing routine maintenance on hedges shortly after midnight on 19 April 2024 when he suffered life-threatening injuries
Shocking CCTV footage shows the moment a tree surgeon “thought he was going to die” during a severe electric shock from a powerline.
Joshua Pocknell, 26, was performing routine maintenance on hedges shortly after midnight on 19 April 2024 when he suffered life-threatening injuries, a court heard. He was pushing a mobile lighting tower on a busy road near Royal Wootton Bassett, when the tower made contact with an overhead powerline.
CCTV footage shows the moment Josh received an electric shock, as he felt he “couldn’t let go” of the lighting tower. He sustained life-threatening injuries and was rushed to hospital, where he spent the next five weeks.
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Upton Specialised Tree Services Ltd were today (Fri) fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £6,237 in costs at Bristol Magistrates’ Court after admitting health and safety breaches. Speaking after the case, Jordan said: “My whole body locked and I felt hot and cramping, he said.
“I could hear the electricity in my head and thought I was going to die. I hit the floor and passed out, still cramping. I later discovered a hole had burnt through my arm and hip all the way to the bone.”
Jordan added: “Mr injuries were complex and challenging and there were five or six different surgeons involved in my treatment. I still experience considerable pain and strange bodily sensations, including nerve pain and itching. 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.”
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident found employer Upton Specialist Tree Services had requested a permit to carry out the work of a night time from Wiltshire Council.
It had been decided to do the work after dark due to the needs of traffic flow as the A3102 acted as a diversion for M4. However, the company had failed to adequately plan for or risk assess the dangers posed by overhead power lines. The company did not implement suitable control measures, such as barriers, instruction or training in operating the mobile lighting tower.
Overhead powerlines 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, based in Wimborne, Dorset, pleaded guilty to a breach of the Electricity at Work Regulations.
HSE inspector Tom Preston said: “Joshua is lucky to be alive. Overhead electrical power lines present extreme risks to workers, but the risks can and must be controlled. 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.
“In this case, a worker sustained severe injuries in a traumatic incident for all concerned that was entirely preventable. HSE will take action against those who fail to take the steps necessary to protect people at work.”
