Heroic grandsons save John Mellington after ‘freak’ farming accident

Four young boys are being hailed as heroes after they helped save their grandfather’s life on Saturday after he was crushed by a crutching trailer.

Four young boys are being hailed as heroes after helping save the life of their grandfather following a severe farming accident on Saturday morning.

Western District grazier John Mellington, 69, is lucky to be alive after a “freak” gust of wind flipped his crutching trailer as he prepared for a morning of crutching Merino lambs on their Mt Napier property, about 30km south of Hamilton in western Victoria.

While following all safety precautions, Mr Mellington was crushed by the trailer as an exceptionally strong gust of wind lifted and toppled it on to him while he was setting it up.

Fortunately, his son Bill Mellington and four grandkids, Zac, 16, Will, 15, Charlie, 9, and Ned, 7, were working alongside Mr Mellington when disaster struck.

With no time to waste, three of the grandsons helped Bill lift the trailer off Mr Mellington while Will dragged him free.

Will, Ned, Zac and Charlie Mellington with their grandfather John, who they helped save on Saturday.

Bill’s brother Jim Mellington was on his way to the property to help with the morning of crutching when he received a panicked call from his brother urging him to request an ambulance.

Mr Mellington was still partly pinned beneath the overturned trailer when paramedics arrived, so Bill, Jim and the grandsons then dismantled the roof to create room for the paramedics to work.

“I waited out on the main road and then escorted the ambulance up through the bush and when we got there it wasn’t a pretty scene,” Jim Mellington said.

“My brother and his boys had managed to lift the trailer and drag Dad out.

“He was in quite a bit of shock and was shaking and he had some good cuts on his head so there was a lot of blood.”

Jim Mellington said his father is recovering well in hospital thanks to the efforts of his brother and his four nephews.

He said his father escaped with no broken bones, but several serious cuts and was incredibly sore after the accident.

“We had a large debrief yesterday and you just can’t be too careful,” Jim Mellington said.

“Even if you do everything right, things can still go wrong. You just have to be very, very careful.

“We have changed our wind policy. If it is windy like that we will leave the crutching for another day. The sheep will still be in the paddock.

“From the family we would like to thank the Ambulance Victoria paramedics. They were amazing.”