A gardener slashed his own neck with a chainsaw in a freak accident before cops mistakenly believed his wife had attacked him.

Christopher York, 65, lost more than two litres of blood when he lost control of the £120 tool while trimming his hedges.

The Bosch chainsaw jumped out of his hands and cartwheeled 180 degrees before slicing his jaw.

The sharp metal teeth ripped a two-inch gash under his chin in the freak accident at his home in Chesterfield, Derbys., on May 12.



The dad-of-four collapsed on the ground with blood spraying out of the wound.

Luckily his wife Veronika, 44, and a neighbour found Christopher lying in a pool of blood and dialled 999.

Christopher, a corporate financer, was rushed to hospital where doctors discovered the blade had missed severing his jugular vein by just 1mm.

Christopher said: "A butcher with 20 years of experience wouldn't be able to do what I did with a knife, let alone with a spinning chainsaw." "

By chance, a specialist vascular surgeon was on duty at the hospital that day so he did not need to be transferred further afield.

Christopher spent weeks in intensive care in Chesterfield Royal Hospital before being allowed home.

Recalling the day of the horrific accident, he said: "I had used hedge trimmers first to get rid of general bush detritus in the area."



"Then I was going for the larger bush trunks but the chainsaw became stuck on the larger one."



"I applied pressure and it flew through. It wouldn't go further for a moment."



"I gave it a push and that's when it was flying over my right shoulder."







"I felt something cold and wet on the front of my shirt and glanced down to see a stream of rich red blood discharging onto my shirt and then continuing to my trousers and shoes. "

"The doctors said I lost two litres of blood, apparently it was more than that."



"That's why I felt in the ambulance and on the stretcher that I couldn't breathe."



"My body was getting the oxygen into my body but I didn't have the capacity to transport it around my body. "

"I had to make conscious efforts to suck air in and out."



As well as coming within a whisker of slicing through his jugular, Christopher also missed cutting his windpipe by just 3mm.

In a bizarre mix-up, Veronika was almost arrested by police on suspicion of attacking her husband.

Christopher said: "The funniest part was when Veronika was taking it [the chainsaw] to the tip, she didn't ever want to see the thing again."



"She sped to the tip and wanted to ditch the thing."



"She saw an operative and asked which to dump the tool in and he just looked in aghast as it was covered in dried blood."



"She made a hacking motion at her neck with her right hand and just said ‘my husband'."



"He thought it was a confession and got her plates as she drove off. She was in a hurry as she wanted to see me in ICU. "

"They (police) wouldn't let her see me. She was running through the hospital to get to the intensive care ward and that's when they caught her. She was in pre-arrest at that stage."



"When they had realised it was a non-story, then they ascertained it was what Shakespeare might call a comedy of errors." "

Christopher suffered severe lacerations to the side of his neck but also a splintered jaw.

Surgeon Gary Hicken said it was an extremely "close call" for Christopher. "

He said: "If he had fallen a little bit harder or ever so slightly lower, then it would have hit these two major vessels, and he would have bled to death at the scene." "

Lisa, a senior sister in the emergency department, added: "It went like clockwork, there was someone looking over him that day."

"He was very grateful to everyone in the hospital. Thanks to the staff that assembled that day, his wife has a husband and his children have a father."