Moment tree surgeon is electrocuted by 11,000 volt powerline

A tree surgeon who was electrocuted by a 11,000 volt powerline has recalled fearing for his life. CCTV footage shows Josh Pocknell maintaining some hedges shortly after midnight on 19 January, 2024, when he suffered a powerful electric shock after making contact with an overhead cable. He was quickly rushed to hospital after suffering from life-threatening injuries. “My whole body locked and I felt hot and cramping,” he later recalled. “I could hear the electricity in my head and thought I was going to die.” Mr Pocknell’s employer, Upton Specialised Tree Services Ltd, was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £6,237 in costs at Bristol Magistrates' Court on Friday (1 May) after the company wad determined to have failed to assess the dangers of overhead power lines.