A former soldier has described how Prince William held his head and exchanged “military banter” with him for half an hour after he was knocked unconscious by a tree branch.

Jim Schembri didn’t know the Duke of Cambridge had come to his rescue when he suffered a nasty accident at work on Tuesday. The 37-year-old, who used to serve in the Light Infantry, joked that he didn’t want William flying him to hospital in the air ambulance before realising he was already looking after him.