0:00:02 > 0:00:04Rural Britain has some of the most challenging
0:00:04 > 0:00:05environments in the world.
0:00:05 > 0:00:09In Scotland, the mountains, lochs and coastline
0:00:09 > 0:00:12encourage tourists and locals to get out into the wilds.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15But with that comes danger.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Keep your arms by your side!
0:00:21 > 0:00:24The emergency services north of the border
0:00:24 > 0:00:28have to deal with extreme challenges every day.
0:00:28 > 0:00:29Nobody in their right mind
0:00:29 > 0:00:32should have attempted to drive through this.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35From severe weather and treacherous terrain...
0:00:35 > 0:00:38- Is the pain getting worse, do you think?- Yes.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41..to covering huge distances on rural roads
0:00:41 > 0:00:43with time against them.
0:00:46 > 0:00:47They work around the clock,
0:00:47 > 0:00:51battling against some of the most difficult situations.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56We'll be right at the heart of the action -
0:00:56 > 0:00:59side by side with air rescue saving lives,
0:00:59 > 0:01:03on the road with paramedics caring for the hurt and injured
0:01:03 > 0:01:05and following the police fighting crime,
0:01:05 > 0:01:10as the emergency services work together to pick up, patch up
0:01:10 > 0:01:13and protect the public in rural communities.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16This is Countryside 999.
0:01:33 > 0:01:34Coming up -
0:01:34 > 0:01:38emergency services attend a serious road traffic collision
0:01:38 > 0:01:40involving a car and a horse-drawn carriage
0:01:40 > 0:01:42I looked at where I thought the horses would be
0:01:42 > 0:01:46and there was just, at that point, a big bang.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50A Search And Rescue helicopter battles bad weather
0:01:50 > 0:01:51to save a man at sea.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59And we go out on the slopes with the ski patrol.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16A fifth of the UK population live in the countryside.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22In London, there are 12,500 people per square mile,
0:02:22 > 0:02:27but here, in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland, there are only 60.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31People are more thinly spread and so, too, are the emergency services.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Traffic cops David Holland and Hazel Smyth
0:02:38 > 0:02:42both moved to the area for the wide open spaces.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44But with over three million vehicles
0:02:44 > 0:02:48travelling through this part of the UK every year, they're kept busy.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Whilst on shift, they get a 999 call,
0:02:52 > 0:02:56and blue-light to the scene of a major road traffic collision.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01We've been sent a call to a serious crash,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03just on the other side of Dumfries
0:03:03 > 0:03:07so it's about 30 miles away from where we are at the moment.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13Hazel must navigate 30 miles of icy, country roads,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16in an area with the second-highest rate of road accidents
0:03:16 > 0:03:18in the whole of the UK.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25On the way, PC David Holland gets a worrying update.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39Basically, it was one person with a potentially serious head injury.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43I believe there's a heli-med on its way.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48There are five people involved, but they're not the only casualties.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02There's actually been two horses involved in the accident,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06so they're just calling out a vet for the horses at the moment.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Think they've been injured too.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11The news goes from bad to worse.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21That's it confirmed, obviously, by the ambulance staff
0:04:21 > 0:04:23that it's a potential fatality, so...
0:04:26 > 0:04:30..I'd imagine there's going to be some accident investigators called out
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and the road'll be shut for quite some time.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36When they arrive at the scene,
0:04:36 > 0:04:38the extent of the collision becomes clear.
0:04:38 > 0:04:39There's the helicopter.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45But this accident is not between two cars.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48It involves a car and a horse-drawn carriage
0:04:48 > 0:04:51carrying a bride and her father to her wedding.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54We've got a horse cart.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57It's been hit by one car, one driver.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Four injured, one with a serious head injury.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07When we first arrived,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09there was obviously damage to the carriage, it was on its side.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14Horses had been injured. Extensive damage to the motorist's vehicle.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Our first fear is,
0:05:18 > 0:05:19how bad are these injuries?
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Four ambulance crews are tending to the casualties.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27The air ambulance is on standby
0:05:27 > 0:05:30as the carriage driver has sustained life-threatening injuries.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35The driver of the cart who sits up the front of it,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38he's got knocked off, and he's been hurled metres away from it,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41so at the moment, it's a potential fatal
0:05:41 > 0:05:44but we don't know the full extent of the injuries just yet.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58In rural Britain, Search And Rescue helicopters
0:05:58 > 0:06:02play a vital role in serving isolated communities miles apart
0:06:02 > 0:06:04and often in hard-to-reach places.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11Prestwick Airport is home to HMS Gannet's Search And Rescue Team.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15They cover an area of 98,000 square miles...
0:06:17 > 0:06:20..from Northern Ireland to the Lake District
0:06:20 > 0:06:22and up to the top of Scotland.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28They train hard to negotiate all kinds of severe weather conditions.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Today, the four-strong crew, lead by observer Angela Lewis,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35are responding to a life-and-death situation
0:06:35 > 0:06:36to rescue a man in the sea.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53A 999 call has reported a person in the Firth of Forth Estuary,
0:06:53 > 0:06:55north of Edinburgh.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58It's 45 minutes away and every second counts.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Cold water means a high risk of hypothermia,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06so the nearest hospital in Edinburgh has been put on standby.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18If the casualty is in the water,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22winchman Andy Firth will be lowered down to rescue them.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25In preparation, Andy puts on his immersion suit.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Meantime, the weather is closing in.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33And low cloud is bad news for helicopters.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47It's raining.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51The cloud base is at 180 feet, so visibility's poor,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54making terrible conditions to carry out a rescue.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58They must fly under the cloud at around 50 feet,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01following the River Forth to guide them.
0:08:12 > 0:08:13As they get closer,
0:08:13 > 0:08:17the ominous sight electricity pylons appears in front of them.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23The low cloud means they can't fly over the pylons.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26But these cables carry 275,000 volts.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32If the rotor blades touch them, it's certain death for the crew.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38With a casualty in open water and the clock ticking,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40it's decision time for the crew.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Avoiding the cables would mean a 15-minute detour.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03It was one of the poorest conditions weather-wise that day,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05and everyone's ante is upped
0:09:05 > 0:09:07when it's a person in the water.
0:09:07 > 0:09:08The difference of seconds
0:09:08 > 0:09:13could be life or death to somebody in the water.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17With someone's life at risk, the decision is made to go under.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21The pylons are looming ahead, but will they make it?
0:09:27 > 0:09:29130 miles southwest,
0:09:29 > 0:09:33the police are still on the scene of a serious road accident.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35A car has crashed into a horse-drawn carriage
0:09:35 > 0:09:39carrying a bride and her father to her wedding.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42Their horse-drawn carriage has been heading towards a nearby hotel
0:09:42 > 0:09:46for a wedding reception and it's been in collision with a car.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49Four people from the carriage are injured,
0:09:49 > 0:09:51one of them seriously injured,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53and we're just carrying out investigations just now
0:09:53 > 0:09:55to see exactly what's happened.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Four ambulance crews are tending to the casualties.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03The air ambulance is on standby as the carriage driver, Simon,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05is critically injured.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08He was flung metres in the air and landed on the road.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Given the severity of his injuries,
0:10:13 > 0:10:17the paramedics decide it's safer to make the five-mile trip to hospital
0:10:17 > 0:10:20by ambulance, rather than moving Simon into the helicopter.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25The police will provide an escort to get them there faster,
0:10:25 > 0:10:27in case his condition deteriorates.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Simon's wife Zoe was driving the bridesmaids by car to the wedding.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39He wanted me to stay and sort the horses, but then I went...
0:10:39 > 0:10:42She witnessed the accident first-hand.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44I turned round and there was a...
0:10:44 > 0:10:46I looked at where I thought the horses would be
0:10:46 > 0:10:49and there was just, at that point,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52a big bang, and I start to run up the road
0:10:52 > 0:10:57and the carriage and the car are still coming down the road
0:10:57 > 0:10:59towards me, as I'm running up.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04By this time, the carriage has now made a full flip back over itself.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Simon was actually coming through the air,
0:11:07 > 0:11:08and had landed on the road,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11so I'm shouting for Simon as I'm running up the road.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17Simon's horrific injuries meant he was in and out of consciousness.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Despite that, he was still concerned about the horses.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Simon kept shouting at me, "Have I got the horses off,
0:11:24 > 0:11:26"have I got the horses off?"
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Because if they got loose or if something happened,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32they're big animals, they're heavy animals, and they could go on
0:11:32 > 0:11:36to cause either another accident or cause more damage to what was there.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38I had to make sure that they were under control
0:11:38 > 0:11:41when all you want to do is to get down on your hands and knees
0:11:41 > 0:11:44and make sure your husband is breathing.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50The car driver has escaped uninjured,
0:11:50 > 0:11:52but all the occupants of the carriage -
0:11:52 > 0:11:54the bride, her father,
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Simon the carriage driver and his daughter, Hannah,
0:11:56 > 0:12:00who was sitting up front with her dad, have been taken to hospital.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Before any vehicles can be removed,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08the accident investigation team must examine the scene
0:12:08 > 0:12:10to find out exactly what happened.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13- Just the one in there? - Just the one person in the car,
0:12:13 > 0:12:17four in the carriage. The boy's been tubed and he's OK.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20The officers check the damage to the car and the carriage
0:12:20 > 0:12:23for signs of what caused the collision.
0:12:23 > 0:12:24You see in the front of the car,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27you see a mark down the offside of the radiator.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29The full length of the radiator.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32There's a mark from the top right to the bottom.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35It's obviously caused a crease in the bumper as well.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38It's my opinion at this time that the mark on the radiator
0:12:38 > 0:12:41has actually been caused by this wheel here.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43At this moment in time, I think the vehicle was travelling
0:12:43 > 0:12:47fully on its own side of the road, and it would appear to have
0:12:47 > 0:12:50just driven directly into the rear of the carriage.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52I'm advised at the time of the crash,
0:12:52 > 0:12:54albeit it's just over an hour since the crash now,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57at the time of the crash there was a really low, bright sun,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01which I think at this time may have contributed to the cause of the crash.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16One third of Scotland's landscape is made up of mountains like these.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24They attract millions of visitors each year, from all over the world.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30But these mountains can be treacherous playgrounds.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33They give the emergency services massive challenges
0:13:33 > 0:13:36when rescues need to be carried out.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40As environments go, it doesn't get much tougher than this.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50The Cairn Gorm Mountain Ski Centre is Britain's busiest ski resort.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59Every year, around a quarter of a million people visit this mountain.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02And keeping them all safe are the Cairn Gorm ski patrollers...
0:14:04 > 0:14:07..specially-trained first aid responders
0:14:07 > 0:14:10and skilled skiers, on call to rescue people from the slopes.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16In freezing temperatures, the ski patrol team's priority
0:14:16 > 0:14:20is to get their casualties safely off the mountain.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22We'll see you back soon.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25On shift today is 25-year-old Justine Stewart.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29She started here as a volunteer
0:14:29 > 0:14:32and has been a full-time ski patroller for two years.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37The conditions are very changeable here,
0:14:37 > 0:14:41so we could come up and it could be very still,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43and then maybe within a couple of hours
0:14:43 > 0:14:46we could have 60-70 mile per hour winds.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49So it's very changeable, you've got be very adaptable.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57It's a busy Saturday, with over 1,000 skiers
0:14:57 > 0:14:59and snowboarders on the mountain.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Justine's checking the slopes...
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Guys, can you get off the track?
0:15:06 > 0:15:09..when an emergency call comes in about a snowboarder
0:15:09 > 0:15:12who's been run over by a skier and been badly cut.
0:15:19 > 0:15:2221-year-old Eric is bleeding heavily from a cut
0:15:22 > 0:15:25which could have severed a main artery in his wrist.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29Incredibly, a passing skier, who's a nurse, stopped to help.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32She's tourniqueted his wrist with bandages
0:15:32 > 0:15:35to try and stop the blood flow.
0:15:35 > 0:15:36If he has cut an artery,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40this first aid could mean the difference between life and death.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43We need to see the extent of this bleeding, OK?
0:15:43 > 0:15:47It'll be very quick, but cos the tourniquet's off, we need to see.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Nancy carefully removes the bandage and discovers a deep laceration.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56Another ski patroller arrives with a sledge
0:15:56 > 0:15:59and extra bandages to stop the bleeding.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Dave, have you got an ambulance dressing on you?
0:16:02 > 0:16:04- Yeah, just in the top there.- Cool.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15What we're going to do is take you down to the bottom,
0:16:15 > 0:16:17- and get you into the warm. - OK. Perfect.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20How are you feeling about an ambulance?
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Eric's putting on a brave face, but the team need to get him
0:16:26 > 0:16:29off the hill and down to the base station as quickly as possible.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38We're going to get him into the warm and make a better assessment.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43After a bumpy ride, the pain is getting worse.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51OK, Eric?
0:16:55 > 0:16:57Paramedics are en route.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01Meanwhile, Nancy and Justine need to keep Eric as stable as possible.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Are you feeling OK? You're not feeling faint or anything, are you?
0:17:14 > 0:17:17The bleeding won't stop, so more pressure's put on his wrist.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22Eric, there's nothing that we can do here cos it's quite deep.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24We can't stitch you up just now,
0:17:24 > 0:17:27but we can just stop the bleeding, which will be good for you.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34In the city, an ambulance might take minutes to be on the scene,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37but here in the Cairngorms, it can take up to an hour.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47The amount of blood loss there,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50and the speed at which the blood was coming out,
0:17:50 > 0:17:52we were getting a bit concerned.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56As they play the waiting game for the ambulance,
0:17:56 > 0:17:58Eric's also getting worried.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Can we be perfectly honest here?
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Am I...? Is this going to be OK?
0:18:07 > 0:18:09Are you jiggling about because of the pain
0:18:09 > 0:18:11or are you jiggling about cos you're cold?
0:18:11 > 0:18:13No, I'm jiggling about because of the pain.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19You're doing really well.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Might not feel like it, but you are.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Eric is stable, but both Nancy and Justine
0:18:25 > 0:18:30know that he can't afford to lose much more blood.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33So that's a really good sign that you can still move your fingers.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Still clench Nancy's finger. That's really good. We like that.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37Keep it that way.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48The ambulance paramedics arrive and take over from ski patrol.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55- Can you feel your finger tips wiggling?- Yeah.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Move your fingers and all that?
0:18:58 > 0:19:02It's totally fine, we'll have a look and see what we're going to do.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11Try and make yourself look hard on TV, eh?
0:19:14 > 0:19:16Eric's best mate Ryan sees for himself
0:19:16 > 0:19:19just how sharp the ski that cut Eric was.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Straight through the glove, like.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25We're supposed to be going out to a 21st tonight,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27but I don't think it'll be happening.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30The paramedics take Eric by ambulance
0:19:30 > 0:19:32to the local medical centre ten miles away
0:19:32 > 0:19:34to get the bleeding stopped
0:19:34 > 0:19:36and the full extent of his injuries assessed.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Back in the east of Scotland,
0:19:48 > 0:19:50the Royal Navy's Search And Rescue Team
0:19:50 > 0:19:54are responding to an emergency call in the Firth of Forth.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58A 999 call reported seeing a person in the sea.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00With someone at risk from drowning,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04the crew are trying to get there as quickly as they can.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08But electricity pylons are across their most direct route.
0:20:08 > 0:20:09Thick cloud is above them.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14They've no option but to fly under the 275,000-volt cables.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Arriving at those wires,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19realising there was no way we could go over the top,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22we elected to conduct quite a dangerous evolution
0:20:22 > 0:20:24that we do train for,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27but I've never had to put it in practice that way before,
0:20:27 > 0:20:29and there are not many other call-outs
0:20:29 > 0:20:34that we would have pushed on, beyond somebody who could be drowning.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36As the cables dip in the middle,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39they must fly close to the pylons to get under.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52OK, you are well below.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55You've got about 15 foot to the wires now.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57About 10-15 foot below.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Centre of the cab's coming under the wires now.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Height's good, forward only.
0:21:18 > 0:21:19Relieved all's gone to plan,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22they head straight to the man in the water.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26But, minutes after going under the cables, they get some shocking news.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51With police and a lifeboat also involved,
0:21:51 > 0:21:55they must continue the search until the call is confirmed as a hoax.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14After searching for 20 minutes,
0:22:14 > 0:22:16a call comes in to confirm their suspicions.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36This hoax mission has been very costly.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40But, more importantly, it's put the crew in real danger.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Call is being treated as a hoax, and we're going to route
0:22:44 > 0:22:47to Edinburgh now for refuel before returning home.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13Rescue 177, Aberdeen coastguard, over.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15177, go ahead.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19It's been a dangerous exercise that's wasted crucial resources.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23While the police try to track down the hoax caller,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26there's nothing to do but return back to base.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37It's now nearly six weeks after the accident involving a car
0:23:37 > 0:23:42and a horse-drawn carriage, taking a bride and her father to her wedding.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46Worst hurt in the collision was Simon, the carriage driver.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48He was thrown metres from the carriage,
0:23:48 > 0:23:49hitting his head on the road.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57When he was taken to hospital, the extent of his injuries
0:23:57 > 0:24:00put him in a life-or-death situation.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05At that first point, when you realise that a car has hit them,
0:24:05 > 0:24:10and my first flash image was of Simon, in the air,
0:24:10 > 0:24:15and the back end of the carriage, up in the air,
0:24:15 > 0:24:18and the horses are going backwards.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23That is the mental image that I've got, and it's that
0:24:23 > 0:24:29oh-my-God moment, that you think when your heart stops.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36He'd injured his right elbow, back, four ribs,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39collarbone and shoulder blade.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43His head and face were battered and bruised, needing 15 stitches.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47He was in hospital for 12 days
0:24:47 > 0:24:51and has now made a miraculous recovery.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54But the memories are still very raw.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57All I could feel was this, this cold and I was shivering,
0:24:57 > 0:25:01and I remember shivering very badly,
0:25:01 > 0:25:04to the point that it was scary,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06shivering so badly.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10And during the travel to the hospital
0:25:10 > 0:25:14was when I became unconscious and then I stopped breathing.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17And at some point then, I was resuscitated.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20So I'm not sure, you know, people talk about shock
0:25:20 > 0:25:22and going into shock and certainly for me
0:25:22 > 0:25:25that was quite a scary moment.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27While Simon was recovering in hospital,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31he picked up a newspaper and was shocked by what he saw.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36To see in the paper that here was the carriage,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39and there was a car and I'm thinking, "My God, that was us.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43"That was me. Did I take part in that, did I do that?"
0:25:43 > 0:25:44and I had nobody around me
0:25:44 > 0:25:46to actually say, you know,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48"It wasn't your fault."
0:25:48 > 0:25:53And I kept going back to the page, and I kept looking at that picture
0:25:53 > 0:25:56thinking, "My God, we got out of that."
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Simon's two horses, Hobo and Hebe, were also injured,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05but they, too, have made a good recovery.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07This is Hebe.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11Who's a seven-year-old Irish draught cross mare.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14And she's a real veteran now of over 600 weddings.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17When the carriage tumbled down the road,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19she was the one that got thrown up in the air the highest,
0:26:19 > 0:26:22and the furthest, and landed with quite a bang.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24And this is Hobo.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Hobo got thrown to the side
0:26:26 > 0:26:28and he supported the weight of the carriage
0:26:28 > 0:26:30with the bride and her father inside.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Zoe and Simon's daughter, Hannah, was also thrown from the carriage.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40She was kept in hospital over the weekend.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42I remember being quite cold.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45And then the two paramedics came and seen me,
0:26:45 > 0:26:47put me in the ambulance.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49And Zoe came and spoke to me in the ambulance,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52and then I was taken to hospital. That's all I remember.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58It was amazing how the police officers took control
0:26:58 > 0:27:02and it's a great feeling to know that somebody else was there
0:27:02 > 0:27:07to help me, and then when the ambulances arrived, and actually,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11you know, you almost take a back seat and people, you could see them.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14You know, they're doing the best
0:27:14 > 0:27:17and the paramedics that were helping Simon initially just kept saying,
0:27:17 > 0:27:18"He's going to be fine.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22"Just you do what you need to do, he's going to be fine."
0:27:22 > 0:27:25The father of the bride was also kept in hospital
0:27:25 > 0:27:30but, with his blessing, his daughter went ahead and got married that day.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33You know, to see that the bride got married a few hours later,
0:27:33 > 0:27:36then the realisation that, you know,
0:27:36 > 0:27:37I got her...
0:27:37 > 0:27:4019-20ths of the way.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42So, somebody else took her the last little bit.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45So, no, I didn't feel so bad then. But I got her most of the way,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48so I was proud that I got her most of the way.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00It's been all go for the emergency services in Scotland's rural areas.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02The Royal Navy Search And Rescue Team
0:28:02 > 0:28:06endangered their lives for the sake of a hoax call.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Eric's snow sports injury needed surgery to repair three tendons
0:28:10 > 0:28:11and a severed vein.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16Thanks to his glove, the ski narrowly missed his artery
0:28:16 > 0:28:17and probably saved his life.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24Despite their ordeal, Simon and his horses are recovering well.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27It's hoped they'll be back on the road soon.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30And you thought it was quiet in the countryside.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd