Dog Causes Woman's Chainsaw Decapitation

[bloodrayne]

Wife Killed In Chainsaw Accident

London, England - A woman was killed and virtually beheaded in a horrific chainsaw accident when her husband was knocked off a ladder by the family dog.

Roland Pudney, 56, had been using the chainsaw to prune bushes in his garden when the puppy ran into the stepladder while retrieving a golf ball, causing Mr Pudney to topple over.

His wife, Pauline, who had been holding the ladder steady, was killed instantly when the blade sliced into her neck.

Mrs Pudney, a health and safety officer for Lewisham council, had been holding the base of the step ladder because she was concerned about the possible dangers involved.

It had been thought Mr Pudney had simply slipped, but today he told the inquest at Southwark Coroner's Court that he had been knocked from the ladder by the couple's puppy.

The dog had been fetching a golf ball thrown for it by Mrs Pudney in the garden of their £300,000 home in Eltham.

Sobbing, Mr Pudney told the court: "I started cutting then I just heard a bang and the next thing I remember I was lying on the ground."

At first he had no idea what had happened, but then he saw blood pouring from his wife's neck wound.

Pausing frequently, he said: "I could see blood. She was lying there. She was not moving. I could see that she was hurt, I knew I had to go to the phone." Paramedics arrived but were unable to revive the 57-year-old mother of two.

The tragedy came as Mrs Pudney was considering retiring to spend more time with her husband, who had recently left his job as a company director.

He said: "When they let me back to the garden the next day I saw a golf ball under the branches and I just knew what had happened."

Coroner John Sampson recorded a verdict of accidental death.