Woman killed in chainsaw accident

A woman who was killed when her husband fell off a ladder onto her while using an electric chainsaw has been named.

Police said Pauline Pudney, 57, died instantly from serious injuries at a house in Eltham, south-east London, at about 1630 BST on Monday.

The death is not being treated as suspicious and Scotland Yard described it as a "tragic accident".

The woman's 56-year-old husband is being treated for shock in hospital, a police spokeswoman said.

A post-mortem examination on Wednesday identified the cause of death as severe trauma to the neck.

In a statement, police said: "It was a really tragic accident. He [Mr Pudney] is obviously in a great deal of shock.

"A man aged 56 had been pruning a tree when he fell back off the ladder and the chainsaw he had been using seriously injured his wife.

"She was not decapitated. The woman was killed instantly."