Willie Auchnie, who manages a farm in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, noticed his cow shed – home to 200 cattle and 200 calves – was about to buckle under the weight of snow last night.

But after he had rescued the cattle in the nick of time, the roof collapsed leaving him trapped under tonnes of rubble.  

Miraculously he escaped serious injury thanks to the cushioning of a foot of cow dung which lined the concrete floor. Malcolm Hay, the farm’s owner, was joined by a farm worker and a gamekeeper and together they dug for more than 30 minutes before they retrieved Mr Auchnie from the wreckage.

Mr Hay said: “He is the luckiest man alive. It is unbelievable he is still alive. We thought we had lost him. I think he was saved by the muck.”

Mr Auchnie was recovering from his injuries at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin last night.