John Clabburn Home and Away death
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Home and Away director John Clabburn dies after hedge trimming accident

He was 52 years old.

Home and Away director John Clabburn has died following a freak accident at his home.

John, 52, fell three metres while trimming a hedge and cut himself before going into cardiac arrest.

Home and Away
John was a director on Home and Away (Credit: Channel 5)

What happened to Home and Away director John Clabburn?

Sydney’s Daily Telegraph reported that the director was at home with his wife, Melissa, when the accident happened.

He is understood to have fallen while carrying out the work and cut himself on a cordless gardening saw.

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Melissa has described how he “kept it together” despite being in “incredible pain”.

He asked his wife to call an ambulance and when paramedics arrived, they found him suffering a cardiac arrest.

He had lost a lot of blood and was taken to hospital, where he died.

What did John’s wife say?

Melissa told the Telegraph: “I heard a branch break, I was in the kitchen and felt something was wrong, and called out to check he was all right. He kept it together for me but I know he would have been incredible pain.

“One minute we were admiring how straight the hedge was looking and what a great job he had done, he was so meticulous, he had a great eye for detail, the next John was in an ambulance.”

I heard a branch break, I was in the kitchen and felt something was wrong.

She added: “He was crawling on the ground on his stomach… he was clutching his torso, I kept getting towels to stem the flow but the blood wouldn’t stop.”

The couple have two sons, 23-year-old Josh, and Lewis, 21.

Home and Away
His wife said the blood ‘would not stop’ (Credit: Channel 5 / TV Redone / YouTube)

Fundraiser for John Clabburn

Friends have set up a fundraiser on GoFundMe to raise cash and support his family.

The description on the campaign page reads: “JC had a freak accident and passed away almost immediately leaving his wife Melissa and his two sons Josh and Lewis to pick up the pieces.

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“This fund raiser is a tribute to a beautiful spirit with a heart of gold. JC was one of the most loved people in the Screen industry and I for one would like to see his family taken care of at this extremely painful time.”

It continues: “We can’t fill that emptiness or the pain of losing their husband and father, but we can try and ease some of their financial burden.”

As of Tuesday (April 13) afternoon, the fundraiser has received over $55k in donations.

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor

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