A Sydenham tree surgeon was killed when a chainsaw he was using with just one hand "kicked back" into his neck and he was left dangling on a rope 50 feet in the air.

Father-of-one Grigore Bulbuc was trimming a tree in a private back garden with one hand on the dangerous tool and one on a branch when it jumped backwards, severing his jugular vein and carotid artery.

An inquest was told that the 31-year-old's boss, Charles Hurst, scaled the huge sycamore to rescue the stricken worker, who was bleeding heavily from a four-inch wound and shouting "I'm dead" while clutching his neck.

He was working as a "climber" up a large tree with two colleagues below collecting branches, the hearing was told.

Witnesses reported seeing "a lot of blood" following the horrific accident at about 11am on February 15 in Bermondsey.

Police and paramedics rushed to the scene, but were unable to save Mr Bulbuc and he was pronounced dead around an hour later.

The Romanian national had a one-year-old son and was a week away from celebrating his 32nd birthday when the tragic accident happened.

Fighting back tears as he gave evidence at Southwark Coroner's Court, Mr Hurst, managing director of the the tree surgery company, told the jury how he rushed to cut down his colleague and saw the moment the saw struck him.

He said: "I could see Greg holding a branch in his right hand and cutting the branch with a chainsaw in his other hand.

"As I looked up I saw the chainsaw kick back and go into his shoulder and neck.

"It went into his neck on his left side. It was quite deep and I realised immediately he had injured himself badly.

"He looked down at me and shouted 'I'm dead, I'm dead' and he held his neck in his right hand.

"I grabbed my rescue kit to get him down.

"I got up the tree and got him down as quickly as I could, I did my best. It was a very difficult climb.

"The branches were very slippery as there was a lot of blood covering them.

"I managed to attach myself to Greg and cut him from his harness.

"I was shouting at Greg to reassure him help was on its way and I was here to rescue him.

"It was very traumatic and very upsetting."

Mt Bulbuc had been a tree surgeon for 10 years and was working with two other colleagues as a sub-contractor for Aralia Tree Services at the time.

Mr Hurst added: "I never saw him operate a chainsaw incorrectly.

"He was my supervisor at my previous job and was a very experienced arborist.

"He was holding the chainsaw with one hand and was not at his fullest reach so it was close to his body. Kickback can occur if you don't use both hands.

"It happened instantaneously, if I saw what he was doing sooner I would have said something and pulled him up on it."

Michael Walters, of the Health and Safety Executive, said Mr Bulbuc was using the chainsaw in a "hold and cut" procedure which should not be used near the body in case of a kickback.

He said: "If you are holding the chainsaw in one hand and a branch in the other close to your body, kickback can occur towards the neck.

"It was a two-handed tool so if it wasn't being used inappropriately then in my opinion the accident wouldn't have happened.

"The only time you should use it one-handed is when you extend your reach to the fullest so the chainsaw is away from the body.

"Protective clothing for the neck has never been used in the industry because of the precautions the operator should be taking.

"I've only ever investigated two other similar neck injuries from kickback from a chainsaw in 24 years."

Mr Walters added that all safety measures were taken on the chainsaw when inspected by the HSE.

Coroner Sarah Ormond-Walshe directed the jury to record a verdict of accidental death.

She added: "His arm was not extended to the fullest extreme.

"He was not using the chainsaw with two hands as he should have been.

"It appears the chainsaw has kicked back and, unfortunately, this was whilst Mr Bulbuc was at risk of injury.

"The direction I'm giving is he died as a result of an accident."

After just over two-and-a-half hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of accidental death "caused by kickback from the top-handled chainsaw he was working with.”

After the hearing his brother Ioan Bulbuc, who also works as a tree surgeon, said he did not want to comment.

But the 27-year-old said at the time of the accident: "He was always so happy. He was so happy to have a little boy.

"He was such a happy person.

"It was just a terrible accident."