Yorkshire Family Witness Chainsaw Death

30 December 2011, 17:44 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A South Yorkshire man bled to death in front of his wife and teenage daughter after he accidentally cut his throat with a chainsaw.

Police confirmed an inquest had been opened and adjourned into the death of 62-year-old Peter Conway, who died on December 23 in Brierley.

He is believed to have stumbled in his back garden while testing the saw he was going to lend to a friend. His wife, Joanne Eland, and daughter, Trudy, looked on in horror as he slipped on to the blade.

A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said the incident is not being treated as suspicious.

Mr Conway's wife and daughter ran to help him but he could not survive his terrible injuries, which included a severed artery in his throat.

His wife told reporters: "Trudy's coping better than me, she's been a rock. I don't think it has really hit her.

"I don't know why his friend wanted the chainsaw but if anyone wanted something from Peter he had to do it straight away.''

Mr Conway also had two grown-up children from a previous relationship.

Just two weeks before the accident the emphysema and bronchitis sufferer had left hospital. When he was in good health he had climbed Ben Nevis.