The death of a man crushed by a 100ft tree he was cutting down could not have been prevented, a sheriff has ruled.

Tree cutter John Phillips, 29, died on land owned by friend David Cochrane's family in Angus.

Mr Phillips and Mr Cochrane were felling trees beside a road at Auchindorie Farm, near Kirriemuir, when the incident occurred on March 14, 2013.

Mr Cochrane told a fatal accident inquiry at Forfar Sheriff Court that his friend had given him a thumbs-up signal seconds before the tree fell directly on top of him.

He had been operating a Caterpillar Telehandler machine attached to the trees they were cutting by a wire while Mr Phillips used a chainsaw to cut the trees down.

A Forestry Commission expert said Mr Phillips had been using the correct tools and techniques and the tree had fallen in an unexpected direction, landing directly on top of Mr Phillips because a "hinge" piece of wood had been "compromised" during cutting.

On Thursday, in a written judgment, Sheriff Gregor Murray said: "The accident could not have been avoided. Self-evidently, tree felling is an inherently dangerous process.

"What occurred was, on the evidence of this case, a genuine tragic accident, reflective of the remaining risks.

"Mr Phillips was highly experienced, wore safety clothing, used appropriate tools and utilised safe techniques. He had already felled many trees, including larger specimens, at the locus over two days without incident."

He added: "Though Mr Phillips did not hold City & Guilds Certificates for felling trees with a trunk diameter in excess of 380 millimetres, there was no suggestion he ought not to have worked with such trees or that the techniques he employed felling them were in any way inappropriate.

"It should be stressed that the expert witness had no criticism of the course of action adopted by Mr Phillips after the first saw jammed and its chain disconnected.

"That amplifies the accidental nature of what occurred and, of course, the deep sadness of its outcome, not least Mr Cochrane witnessing a fatal accident involving a close friend."

Mr Cochrane, 32, said he had known Mr Phillips since childhood and their families had been friends for years.

Speaking of the moment his friend was killed, Mr Cochrane said: "He gave me the thumbs-up and I began to move to pull the tree down towards me.

"Instead of coming towards me the tree broke away from the stump and fell the wrong way. There was no going back once it broke off - there's nothing you can really do and it could have fallen in any direction.

"It was very, very quick - all within two or three seconds between the tree coming down and landing.

"Once it broke John tried to run away. The tree landed on the ground on top of John.

He added: "The tree came down on top of him and pinned him to the stump of the tree we had done previously.

"I've gone through the moment thousands of times in my head but there's nothing I could have done."