Father lucky to be alive after being pinned under power pole

A father who became trapped underneath a large power pole in Melbourne has thanked the “fantastic” emergency crews who were able to safely rescue him.

Odie Barwick, aged in his 40s, was gardening at his home in Upper Beaconsville yesterday when the old, timber pole dislodged and rolled down an embankment, crushing into his right leg.

Hearing his screams, Mr Barwick’s wife Kathie ran out of the house and called triple-zero.

“He was in a lot of pain,” Ms Barwick told 9NEWS.

Paramedics and a specialist rope rescue unit began a delicate operation to lift the pole off Mr Barwick before he was loaded onto a stretcher and taken to Dandenong Hospital.

He will undergo surgery tomorrow after scans showed a fracture in his right leg.

“I’d like to thank the emergency services who came out to help rescue me from under a rather heavy timber pole,” Mr Barwick said from his hospital bed.

“Also, the specialist CFA and SES crews who do a fantastic job.”

While he was trapped, Mr Barwick had used his mobile phone to alert his neighbours, including Julia Graves.

“(My husband) just went running over there to see what was going on and to see what he could do to help,” Ms Graves said.

“It could have been extremely serious, especially if it had rolled onto his chest or abdomen.”

“We’re really grateful that he was so lucky,” his wife Kathie said