Tree surgeon, 18, died after being crushed at work in Oxfordshire

He told jurors the pair had agreed to do a safety cut to help fell the tree, and Parkinson would step away before Bristow used ropes to pull it over.

The tree then fell in the wrong direction, at which point, Bristow said he realised Parkinson was underneath it.

A local resident said in a statement they had heard the tree fall, with Bristow running to their house to call emergency services “almost immediately” after.

The resident said they then ran towards the site with Bristow, where they saw Parkinson pinned under a large tree.

Bristow, who was “white in the face and shaking”, then stood up and said “he’s gone, he’s gone”, the local resident added.

Parkinson was later pronounced dead at the scene.

The inquest heard that Bristow had been slightly more experienced than Parkinson, but only had certificates to remove medium sized trees – those up to 0.72m (2.4ft) in diameter – at the time of the incident.

An expert opinion given as part of the joint investigation by Thames Valley Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had deemed that operational practices were not sufficient, jurors were told.

Police concluded their investigation and opted not seek criminal prosecutions, with the HSE now leading inquiries.