A freak accident near Ottery St Mary left a man trapped under an 80-foot tree he was cutting down.

He had to be freed by firefighters and members of the public, but was not badly hurt.

The incident happened as the man was chopping down the tree in woodland near Holcombe Lane at about 5.45pm on Monday, July 6.

A spokesman for Ottery St Mary Fire Station said: “He was cutting down the tree and as it fell a root wrapped around his leg and pulled him under the falling tree. He was very lucky not to sustain worse injuries.”

Fire control initially mobilised two additional crews from Honiton and the heavy rescue vehicle from Middlemoor, but the Ottery fire crew discovered the extra back-up was not needed.

Devon Air Ambulance attended and paramedics helped assess the man, but he was taken to hospital by land ambulance. He is believed to have suffered only a dislocated ankle in the incident.