AN EARBY man has described the moment he was airlifted to hospital when a bough from a tree fell on his head, fracturing his skull.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) was called into action when Chris Bosomworth, 55, was knocked unconscious by the large branch.

It took a matter of minutes to fly the married father-of-one to Leeds General Infirmary, after he suffered severe brain damage.

He hailed the helicopter for saving his life and is now urging people to support the charity by making donations.

Chris said he was out logging close to West Marton, Yorkshire, with a friend when the rotten branch fell on him in January.

Luckily, he said his friend worked in a hospital’s intensive care unit and administered specialist first aid before calling an ambulance.

Despite gaining consciousness briefly in the air ambulance, Chris said his next memory was waking up in hospital in Leeds.

After 10 days, he was moved to Airedale General Hospital, where he spent five weeks.

The past six months have involved a number of visits to Pendle Community Hospital, Nelson, for physiotherapy as part of his rehabilitation.

But Chris, who is only able to walk short distances and has a wheelchair, is philosophical about his situation.

He said: “Because of the air ambulance I ended up with headaches and in hospital. Without them I would have just been dead.”

Over 20 years ago Chris had a rock climbing accident, which left him partially blind and unable to work.

Following the incident he spent 11 months in hopsital recovering.

However, the two serious accidents have done little to dampen his spirits or sense of humour.

“Maybe I should be more careful,” he said.

“Before the incident I ordered a logging helmet on eBay, but it arrived the day after it happened - talk about irony.”

The latest incident will be depicted in a BBC TV show called Helicopter Heroes to be aired in the autumn.

Musician Chris, who plays tea chest bass in The Busquers, also joined forces with the Skiptonfolk Unplugged club to organise a charity night in aid of YAA, which operates on a voluntary basis and relies on donations to cover its daily costs of around £7,200.