. . . When he tried to escape in another direction, he came across another crocodile nest. Mr George decided he could not lead the horse out safely without risking his own life, so he found a tree and set up camp.

"I took the stirrup leather off, climbed up and strapped myself to the tree," he said.

"Every night from the second night on I could hear a bull croc bellowing out, and each night he seemed to be getting closer."

After a search was launched he tried everything to attract the attention of airborne rescuers, including flashing sunlight off his tobacco tin, waving his shirt on a stick and spreading toilet paper in the tree branches. "I set up my signals. But the scrub was that thick they couldn't see me through the foliage. It was very frustrating - they flew within 20ft of me at one stage," he said.

His food supply ran out by the third day, but Mr George stayed calm: "I knew I could go without food for as long as it took."

On the fifth day, the horse left - having somehow dodged the crocodiles - and Mr George faced the beasts alone. . . .