CARELESS TREE SURGEON CRUSHES CAR
Local businessman George Chittling was lucky to escape with his life last Friday after a tree crushed the bonnet of his car. The tree, Froghill Common’s famous Lynching Elm, was in the process of receiving attention from ‘Barks, Shoots and Leaves’, a local tree surgery firm.
Said chief surgeon Colin Spence: “The Lynching Elm had been part of Froghill’s landscape since the 17th century. However, over the last few years, it had become severely diseased and represented a danger to the public. We were trying to save the tree by cutting away the damaged tissue from the trunk. Unfortunately, due to an oversight, we used the wrong gauge chainsaw and felled it instead.”
The tree fell on Mr Chittling’s car, crushing the whole of the front section and shattering the windscreen. Despite extensive damage to the vehicle, neither of the occupants was hurt.
Immediately after the accident, a distraught woman, her clothing in disarray, was seen to get out of the car and run across Froghill Common, shouting incomprehensibly and waving her arms.
Questioned by Froghill police, Mr Chittling claimed that the woman was a prospective client, to whom he had been showing his ball bearings. Claiming not to know her identity or which company she represented, he stated that they had only just parked the car at the time of the incident.
Commenting later to the Observer, he added: “I like to take clients to Froghill Common to do business. I find that the tranquil surroundings help me to relax when I'm getting my wares out.” Asked why his client had chosen to leave the vehicle and run shoeless across the Common, rather than waiting for the police to arrive, Mr Chittling declined to comment.
Mr Chittling, owner manager of Chittling’s Balls and Brackets, was named Froghill Businessman of the Year for 2002.
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