An Alexandria schoolteacher and former Royal Marine was tragically killed after being struck on the head while felling a 120ft tree, an inquiry has heard.
Chris Moses, who was a maths teacher at the Vale of Leven Academy, died at the age of 37 while carrying out work as a tree surgeon in Rhu, Helensburgh.
He had previously served 13 years as a Royal Marine, where he did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Speaking at a Fatal Accident Inquiry at Dumbarton Sheriff Court this morning, tree surgeon Christopher Smith - who was working with Mr Moses and another tree surgeon, James Fanning - said he and Mr Fanning heard a loud cracking noise before the incident on Artarman Road in January 2020.
The inquiry heard how the Cardross man, who had been a qualified tree surgeon since 2013, died after being struck on the head by a large section of the 120ft tree he was felling.
His family had travelled from Plymouth for the hearing.
Expert witness Matthew O’Brien, an experienced tree surgeon and former police officer, said that the incident could have been caused by too much weight being left on the back section of the tree, or by the hinge that the tree moved on not being strong enough to support the weight.
At the time, Mr Moses was wearing safety equipment and working at height, whilst his two colleagues carried out the groundwork - which involved attempting to control the direction in which the tree fell.
Recalling the events of January 12 2020, Mr Smith - who met Mr Moses whilst serving as a Royal Marine in Afghanistan - said: “Chris made a signal with his hand when we were to begin pulling.”
After the initial pull hadn’t worked, Mr Moses began putting wedges into the tree to bring it down.
The court heard that this was standard practice in tree surgery.
“We heard a large crack after the wedges were put in” Mr Smith continued.
“Jamie (Fanning) said to me something like ‘that didn’t sound right’.
“It sounded different. It was a sharp crack, not a tear.”
Mr Smith said that there was communication between the groundworkers and Mr Moses before they continued to attempt to fell the tree.
He explained that he tied the rope around his body in an alpine butterfly knot.
Mr Smith continued: “As the tree snapped it dragged me and Jamie for a couple of metres. I pulled the knot to release me.”
He called emergency services whilst Mr Fanning went to tend to Mr Moses, however he was pronounced dead by paramedics who attended the scene.
Asked what he felt went wrong by Sheriff John Hamilton, Smith said: “I think the hinge had snapped and the tree twisted before coming down on Chris. It spun to one side and that tells us that the hinge snapped.”
At the time of his death, tributes flooded in for the “lovely man” and “dedicated serviceman”, while Vale Academy headteacher Matthew Boyle described him as “bright, cheerful, and passionate”.
Sheriff Hamilton’s findings and recommendations are expected to be published within the next 28 days.
