A 35-YEAR-OLD Chelford man is fighting for his life after he caught fire in a field in Lower Peover.
Stephen Okill, of Church Cottages, suffered severe burns in the fire, which happened in a field off Back Lane on Tuesday, April 10.
He was discovered at 5.30pm when four men visiting nearby Peover Golf Club spotted the blaze behind the hedge next to the green where they were playing.
The four men, two fathers and sons, immediately doused Mr Okill, who was beside his white Ford escort, with water and dialled 999. Joanne Baker, Golf Club secretary, arrived at the scene soon after and said the lower half of his body was severely burned.
She said it was lucky the players were there because it is a remote part of the countryside.
"You don't expect to go out and play golf and have to save somebody's life. You would not know there is a golf club behind the field because of the hedge," said Ms Baker.
"It is going to spoil anyone's day to see that sort of thing, it doesn't matter how much first aid training you have."
Mr Okill, who has two brothers and three sisters, is single and lives with his mother.
His friends and colleagues at Chelford petrol station, where he has worked for several years, wished him a full recovery and said their thoughts were with him and his family at this time.
Ms Baker said fire crews from Knutsford were first on the scene. They used a hose reel to extinguish the fire in Mr Okill's car.
Mr Okill was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital's A&E, where a spokesman described his condition as critical but stable.
