A grandad is lucky to be alive after a 60ft tree crushed him – leaving him TWO INCHES SHORTER 

Shocking footage shows the moment a monstrous 60-foot tree crashed down on a grandfather in just three seconds while he was working on his small property during a storm.

Nigel Ward was trapped under the tree for 45 minutes after a large part broke off, landing in a nearby shed and crushing him in a squat position on February 18, 2022.

Mr Ward, from Wareham in Dorset, was in hospital for ten days and unable to work for six months after suffering a broken spine, a broken left foot, shoulder and neck damage and lacerations facials.

The 5ft 6in grandfather of two, 70, claims he was beaten with such force that he lost two inches in height and is now just 5ft 4in.

A year later, Nigel shared the footage of Storm Eunice hitting the UK, saying: “I should have killed myself.”

Her post was captioned: ‘One year ago today, I thought I was going to meet my maker.

‘I really should be dead. He broke my spine, crushed my left foot, shoulder, and neck.

‘That tree never knocked me down, it put me in a squat position. I probably lost about two inches in height.

I couldn’t breathe. Luckily, my coat was quite big on me. I squirmed until I managed to get onto my side.

‘I heard a big crack in my foot as I fell. I could hear the bone breaking in my foot.

It took them three quarters of an hour to get me out. It was horrible, I’m not the same person that I was.

Nigel was called to the shed where he keeps his pony cart and hay by a worker at 12:45pm who was concerned the side of the building was going to blow.

The then 69-year-old man went down to assess the situation and while he was explaining to the worker what he would do to secure the building, the tree collapsed.

Nigel said: ‘I walked up to the building in my stable block and said ‘I know how we can cure that’ and that’s as far as I got.

‘The next thing I knew, he had hit me. If you look closely at the video, the chickens heard it long before I did.

‘They were running before the tree fell, they must have known something.

‘The noise it made when it hit that shed was unbelievable. The roof beams of the shed snapped like matchsticks.

If that shed hadn’t been there, it would have killed both of us because that roof took the brunt of the impact.

The worker was hit on the back by some logs.

The worker called the emergency services who arrived within minutes and released Nigel before taking him to Poole Hospital.

Nigel said: ‘I can remember bits and pieces, I just remember that it was very, very cold.

‘A paramedic managed to wriggle in next to me, but I really can’t remember getting me out.

“He had a fractured spine, a crushed left foot, shoulder and neck damage, and lacerations to his face from branches that were very, very rough.

“I spent ten days in the hospital. They were going to operate on my foot because I have a bad heart. [decided not to and] he said that although it would take some time, he would eventually heal.

“They put my foot in a boot and I couldn’t work for six months.

“The recovery was very painful and frustrating. I took very strong painkillers, wore a zimmer frame and went to physio.

A year after his accident, Nigel says he still suffers from foot and ankle pain.

Nigel said: ‘I can walk but my foot and ankle hurt. He had a very bad swelling in his leg.

I don’t like looking at pictures. A lot of people have said they can’t believe I’m still here, he should have killed me.

‘I couldn’t go back there [where the accident happened] for a long time. Going there now gives me the creeps.

“If I hear a tree it brings back horrible memories.”