Episode 14 Countryside 999

From the Highlands of Scotland...

to the coast of Cornwall...

the Great British countryside is spectacular.

But we work and play in it...

at our peril.

SIREN WAILS

And when things go wrong...

the emergency services race to the rescue.

He's come off and he's got his leg trapped underneath him.

SIREN WAILS

Ah, man.

Oh, this is a nightmare.

Going hundreds of miles against the clock...

..battling the elements...

and braving the waves.

HE CRIES OUT

From the Welsh Valleys...

to winding country roads...

..we'll be right at the heart of the action.

With police fighting crime...

I am tinkering on seizing the vehicle.

..paramedics saving lives...

BABY CRIES

..and lifeguards patrolling the seas.

We're there as the emergency services pull together

to pick up, patch up and protect the public.

This is Countryside 999.

Coming up, the race is on to rescue a mud-bound treasure hunter

on the Pembrokeshire coast.

Go across to the, er... to the point there.

In Dumfriesshire, a harvester comes head-to-head with a car

on a country road.

And, in Cornwall, a surfer's had a battle with her board.

Ooh, that's impressive!

The beauty and remoteness of the countryside

are what draws people to it.

But it can have a dark side.

Out in the wilds,

outdoor pursuits can quickly turn into dramatic rescues.

One of the reasons why our rural emergency services

are on call every day of the year.

Our glorious coastline is one of the jewels in the British crown -

nearly 20,000 miles of coves, harbours, and beaches.

It's a honeypot for tourists but it's also a hive of industry -

and fishermen and fun-lovers alike can get into trouble.

Milford Haven is the largest port in Wales

and the third largest in the UK.

Its busy waterway is home to Dyfed-Powys Police Marine Unit.

Marine Skipper Paul Hunt leads a four-strong crew.

He's an old hand at patrolling the waters of West Wales.

We carry out a patrol of Milford Haven waterway...

..basically from this area all the way out to sea.

The main role is protection of infrastructure,

and the industry in the Haven, and the communities alongside.

But when they're not patrolling tankers and oil refineries,

they're often helping people in trouble.

Today, Paul and his team have received an urgent call.

A man is stuck in tidal mud flats, and the sea is coming in fast.

Tom has been metal-detecting.

But he's ventured out too far onto the treacherous flats

and is now trapped in thick mud.

Go across to the, er... to the point there.

The sea has reached Tom's feet.

And it's still rising.

The fire brigade are already there.

But the mud is so soft they can't reach Tom by land.

Right.

Paul thinks they may be able to wade over to him.

Can you get a throw line out? Just in case he needs to throw it.

There is a little bit of a river there

and hopefully that'll be hard ground.

But the last thing they want is to get stuck as well.

Do you want to give that to...?

Do you want this?

It's just too dangerous.

And they can't get the boat any closer, either -

the water is too shallow.

Two feet, soft mud.

Two feet, soft mud.

One foot, hard.

They need to come up with a new plan, pronto.

It's high summer in the South-West of Scotland,

which means it's harvest time.

The tourists might be on holiday

but the farmers are busy making hay while the sun shines.

The crops are gathered by vast harvesters -

fantastic pieces of kit

but a nightmare to get stuck behind on a country road.

Although there are more vehicles in cities,

you're more likely to have a serious accident on a rural road

than you are in Central London

SIREN WAILS

Dealing with road traffic collisions is a major part of the job

for Paramedics like local lad John West and colleague Michael Harmjanz.

Today, the pair have been called out

to an accident involving a harvester.

But finding your way round rural roads

can be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

The GPS tells us to go this way,

but the update we received from the dispatcher

said it's on the Loch Arthur Road, which is this.

So we're trying the Loch Arthur Road and I asked for an update.

So you might have to turn back

but this is the road we've been given by voice.

5015, receiving.

Drumburn?

I ken where Drumburn is.

John grew up in Dumfries

and his local knowledge is better than any GPS.

Drumburn Farm, Drumburn.

-Big straight bit of road, Michael.

-Aye.

But then it narrows.

Change of plan, Charlie!

The confusion could have cost them five minutes.

But now John's got them on the right track,

they're getting close to the scene of the accident.

-GPS:

-'Cancelling main function.'

-'Cancelling main function.'

-There you go.

-Michael said it was there.

-All right.

There's the car, Michael.

A young woman on her way to work came up against a harvester.

The car hit the verge and somersaulted, hitting a tree.

Miraculously, she was able to crawl free.

Do you want to lie down or sit up?

Michael and John talk to Katie.

She appears to have got away with no serious injuries.

Where the young lady met the harvester this morning

is probably the narrowest piece of road on the Southerness Road.

And it was also right on the brow of a hill,

and right on the apex of a corner.

The Fire Brigade clear up the debris

to get the traffic flowing as quickly as possible.

It's been a narrow escape for Katie.

The combination of heavy-duty farm machinery

and winding rural roads can be lethal.

This type of weather, the farmers are busy trying to make a living,

moving machinery from field to field,

and sometimes it's big machinery.

It's a beautiful morning this morning.

Nice, dry road conditions, maybe a wee bit more speed than normal.

It's... Different seasons bring different accidents.

John and Michael have done what they can.

Later in the programme, John helps a painter and decorator

who fell and head-butted a wall

Aye. It was...

Keep it still the noo.

Back in Pembrokeshire, the marine police

are trying to rescue a treasure hunter stuck in the mud flats.

Two feet, soft mud.

They can't get any closer to Tom and the tide is rising fast.

One foot, hard.

But help is at hand.

A group of teenage boys offer up their lightweight dinghy.

One of the lads, Sam, stays on board to give Marine Skipper Paul a hand.

RADIO CHATTER

And the dinghy makes light work

of getting Tom out of his sticky predicament.

The gentleman was obviously very, very tired.

Um... He was wet from the mud.

Er, the pressure in his legs has been restricted

and he'd been working hard so he'd been sweating.

It was quite a potentially dangerous situation.

On board the police boat, Tom's safe.

But he could well have hidden injuries.

-It's no inconvenience, OK?

-Honest, I really am...

-You've been there for a while. Let them just check you.

-No problem.

Now I'm out, I'm all right. I really am, honestly.

One of the things we look at is,

um, there's been a lot of pressure on your legs,

which has restricted the blood flow.

And you've been working hard...

'When you're in anything that compresses your limbs,

'it means there's less blood flow around the extremities,

'it means that most of your blood is pooled in the core,

'that's fine until the pressure's released,

'so all of the blood that was in your core'

disperses around your body,

which means your core pressure drops dramatically.

And, um...people have died from going into shock.

The day started with a little light treasure hunting.

Just we're out metal detecting,

with the Pembrokeshire Metal Detecting Club,

and I'm walking down the far side,

and it's firm, like, you know, no problem,

and then I must have stepped off the firm part

and just sunk, up to my knees in the mud.

And you are trapped, you can't pull out.

You know, it really sucks you in and you can't...

You know, when you try pull one out, the other one's sinking lower.

So you've just got to stand there and wait.

If you haven't got this sort of help,

I don't know how you'd get out.

You know, you can't get out yourself.

-Do you want me to get out?

-Yeah, just stand there.

-You all right?

-Yeah, fine.

-OK, good man.

-Ah!

-Sit down.

-Sit on the floor's probably best.

-Sit on the floor?

-Yeah, please.

Back there, sir.

They'll all be happier with that. All right.

I don't know what's happened with my machine

because you're not supposed to get them wet and that.

-I fell in the water with it.

-Oh, right.

So I could've wrecked it.

Well, um... You're OK.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. I can always replace the machine.

Yeah. I'll see if we can get that off the boat now.

Tom's safe now, but Britain's tidal mud flats can be treacherous.

The problem was, where he was stuck,

there's probably a seven-metre tidal range today,

so we had to get him out fairly quickly.

-Is it the gentleman there with the hat on?

-Yeah.

You might want a winch to drag him back up.

Now it's over to the paramedics.

Just for the balance.

-You feeling all right?

-Yes, fine.

-Good.

This is very steep, mind.

'It's very hard to walk in the mud. Once you stop moving,'

you can sink in and it causes all sorts of problems.

You think you can move, you may get a yard and that's it.

As that gentleman found out.

Later, in Pembrokeshire, a couple of holiday-makers are locked out,

but also locked in.

So, where's the keys then?

-In the door!

-In the door.

Paramedics John and Michael rescue a biker boy

who's fallen down a rabbit hole.

Right, so, silly question, where are you sore?

But first, in Penzance, a surfer comes to blows with her board.

-Were you knocked out?

-A little bit, like a split-second.

-Dazed, or...?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, OK.

From the Pembrokeshire coast to the Cornish coast.

The pristine beaches here

are a magnet for those in search of a perfect wave.

West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance

is in one of the most remote parts of the country.

Its GPs and nurses have been trained in frontline medicine,

and it's the first port of call in an emergency.

-Can you feel that?

-No.

-No?

If you can just pop your finger on there,

I'm just going to put another layer on cos it's leaking a little bit.

Have you got the pink key, please?

Staff Nurse Dorinda Phillips has worked at West Cornwall

for over 20 years,

so she's an old hand at the kind of accidents that happen here.

ALARM PINGS Ah! Is Buddy making the alarm go?

21-year-old surfer Buddy has come into the hospital

with her friend, Jen.

She's had a battle with her board and come off worse.

My name's Dorinda. What happened?

Er, I went for a surf and I came off my board.

One of the fins hit me in the...

-It struck you in the face.

-Yeah, in the lip. Um...

Ooh, that's impressive!

So I got out straightaway, ran over to the lifeguards,

and I know them all and they just...

They cleaned it up for me and gave me this.

-Good waves?

-Yeah, I just told my boyfriend

I'm taking him to Bali for a present,

-so we thought we'd go for a surf.

-SHE LAUGHS

-And then this happened.

-Yeah.

But it's not just her face Dorinda's concerned about.

Were you knocked out?

Um, a little bit. Like a split-second.

-Dazed, or...?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, OK.

Do you feel sick or have you been sick?

No, I'm just a bit shaken.

All right, my darling.

We'll just write that down. One second.

Anything that's...

Even a facial injury is classed as a head injury,

so anything above the neck would be...would be...

sort of grouped under a head injury.

So we always have to check whether they were knocked out or dizzy or...

Right, shall we go into a cubicle?

-Thank you.

-That's all right, sweetheart.

We'll go down this way. This way, darling.

Surfing injuries are common in this neck of the woods.

Dorinda needs to take a closer look.

You all right up there, darling? Yeah?

That's it. Make yourself comfy.

Sorry, I've got loads of sand...

Don't worry, a seasonal hazard. We don't mind.

Buddy has a deep cut to her upper lip.

It's actually just gone through a tiny bit,

just the border of your lip.

But it may be... You look like Harry Potter!

-Oh, great(!)

-That's what I said!

-Did you?

THEY LAUGH

When the lip is involved,

the border of your lip is called the vermilion border,

and it's really important, if it's sutured,

that it's sutured correctly,

so you don't... you're not left with a ridge.

You know it has to be lined up correctly,

otherwise they have not such a pretty smile.

It's going to sting a little bit, probably.

Obviously going to need stitches.

-You realise that, don't you?

-Mm-hm.

Sorry, my darling.

Urgent Care GP Dr Patrick Farrell gives Buddy the once-over.

-How'd you do it?

-Surfing.

-Uh-huh!

-Can I just have a look at the damage?

-Yeah.

Having had a good look at it, I think you'd probably be better off

going up the road, I'm afraid, to Treliske,

which is to see the maxfac surgeons, which are the facial surgeons,

cos you'll end up with probably a better cosmetic result...

Bad news. She'll have to make the 30-mile journey

to a specialist unit in Truro.

Will your friend be able to take you up there?

-Yeah, of course, yeah.

-Good. We'll organise that.

Luckily, her friend, Jen, is on hand.

It's a long drive from Penzance when you're in pain.

SHE LAUGHS

But later, when Buddy's getting stitched up,

someone else hits the deck.

CLATTERING

Hello. What you doing down there?

Earlier, in Dumfries and Galloway,

paramedics John West and Michael Harmjanz

got lost trying to find an accident deep in the countryside.

The GPS tells us to go this way,

but the update we received from the dispatcher

said it's on the Loch Arthur Road, which is this.

So we're trying Loch Arthur Road and I asked for an update.

Left and then down.

This time, local boy John is doing all the navigating.

Biggest problem is getting there safely.

It's a 999 call and the roads are very wet.

Try and find a route for Michael, where he's going.

A 52-year-old gentleman... Turn right, Michael.

..has, er, seemingly had a fall.

Don't know if he's injured, or the extent of his injuries.

According to this, he's still on the ground.

Bottom of the road, Michael, turn right.

Inside, they discover that Kenny has fallen head-first into a wall.

He was doing up his son's house as a favour.

Is that his head that hit that, guys?

-Aye. It was in...

-No, keep it still the noo.

-How's the neck?

-Sore.

-Sore.

Right, how sore? Whereabouts? Is it muscular?

-Aye, it's right in there.

-Right in there. Right, lie nice and still.

-Got a wee collar for him, Michael?

-Aye.

But the question is, WHY did Kenny fall?

-I've had you before. What was it for?

-Diabetes.

Diabetes.

So how is it normally now?

-Is it controlled?

-Aye.

Get a collar. Could you come round here, son?

John's priority is to secure Kenny's head with a neck brace.

But he thinks his diabetes could be the reason for him falling.

-That hole in the wall there is your head?

-Aye.

-Let's get your chain off there. Aye.

-Nae bother, pal.

-OK.

-Right, this isnae designed to be comfy.

-I thought that.

So, because of your diabetes,

what we'll do is we're going to take a wee blood sugar.

-5.7.

-5.7.

-That's low for me.

-Is that low?

-It's usually 13-point-something.

-Is that low, low for you?

-That's low, low for me. I'm usually...

Kenny's low blood sugar levels

could have been the cause of his blackout.

But there is another possibility.

I'm taking tablets for taking seizures.

You have been taking seizures?

-No, I dinnae ken, that's what I'm saying.

-Right, epileptic?

I'm taking tablets for that the now,

-just to see if it is that or no'.

-Right.

Straight down.

Kenny is diabetic and could also have epilepsy.

Either could be the cause of his collapse.

Grab a hold of the side of this, pal. You grab the other side, mate.

John must get him to hospital.

He needs immediate medical attention for the fall

but they also need to find out what caused the blackout.

-Right, Kenny, are you allergic to anything?

-No.

-So, diabetes type what?

-Two.

-And high blood pressure.

-Aye.

Well, this is a report form for the observations

I've done for Kenny in the house and en route. At the moment it

runs down this and then what we do is we print it out

and it gets handed to the casualty staff

so that anybody that then deals with Kenny from his admission

to his discharge can actually see what happened at the scene.

What I'm querying, Kenny, is the fact that you've no had

nothing to eat since tea-time last night.

This morning, what's happened is you've no had a breakfast either

so you've had what they call a wee hypo.

Skipping meals can lead to low blood sugar.

It might explain the blackout.

-And you say your sugar levels are normally 10-13.

-Aye.

When we got there, it's 5.7, which is normal in your average person,

but for someone that is trying to get diabetes under control...

..it's maybe a wee bit low.

At Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary,

-John hands Kenny over to the doctor on call.

-Hi, doctor. This is Kenny.

-Hello there.

-Kenny is a 52-year-old diabetic-cum-epileptic.

-Hello, sir.

You stay nice and still for us, OK?

Just going to pull the curtains across, please. OK.

What's the last thing that you are member, sir?

Dr Hannah Smith will now try

to shed some light on Kenny's blackout.

John and Michael are still on call. They need to get back on the road.

Argh-ha-ha.

Later in the programme, they treat a biker boy

who's bunny-hopped into a rabbit hole.

Keep sucking because,

I'm no lying to you, it will get a wee bit sore.

The beautiful Pembrokeshire coast is a playground for locals

and tourists alike.

Earlier, the Marine Police Unit in Milford Haven rescued

a treasure hunter who got stuck in the mud.

OK. They'll all be happier with that. All right.

Now, their colleagues in Pembroke Dock have been called to

a couple of tourists who've got themselves in a spot of bother.

Taking the call this time is PC Abby Williams

and her colleague PC Jason Thomas.

We've just had a report that a couple are on a week's holiday

down here and they're stuck in the conservatory of the property.

They've said they've got water and things, but obviously they can't

get out so we're going to go up now and assess the situation

and see what we can do to help.

Maybe get some keys through the window

or something to open it up for them.

The details of the owners are in their vehicle outside

so they don't actually have...

..any contact details for the person, I think, who owns the property.

We find it a lot, though.

If people don't know what to do,

they always phone 999 and ask for the police and we sort them out.

The Fire Brigade are already on site.

-Hiya.

-Hiya.

Hello. You all right? You've got us all called out.

-Oh, sorry.

-That's all right. That's all right.

-It's so embarrassing.

-We're so sorry.

-So, where's the keys, then?

-In the door.

In the door. And it's a Yale lock, is it?

We did try breaking the window

-but we've got nothing hard enough to hit it with.

-Oh.

Didn't want to damage it, really. If we could get the caretaker out...

Yeah.

Janice and Chris have been trying to track down the spare keys,

but no-one's answering their phone.

So, who is it that you're trying to get hold of now?

The key-holder, the caretaker.

And if they don't answer, what's your other option?

-Have you got another number?

-Hello? This is Janice Laws.

We're renting... Hello? We have a bit of a problem.

We are locked in the conservatory.

I've got police here and the Fire Brigade and wonder

if you'd get back to us as soon as you can. Thank you.

At last...

OK, lovely. OK, right.

..someone's at home.

-Cheers.

-What's that?

-The key-holder's on his way.

Where are they travelling from? Do you know?

-He didn't say.

-01432.

-01432.

-Where is that?

-Just give him a call.

Just to... Can you call him back to see where they're travelling from?

Just so you know. I don't think it is very local

so you could be waiting quite a while.

They've tracked down the key-holders but they could still be miles away.

Can you just check a dialling code

to see where that relates to, please?

Right, OK. They'd be waiting a while then. Thank you.

Apparently that relates to Hereford.

I'm just going to try and get hold of the holiday company because the

key-holder lives in Hereford, which is obviously a couple of hours'

drive away. So we don't believe they're coming from there but,

at this stage, we don't know.

If it's 20 minutes, half an hour, that's fine.

If it's a couple of hours then the fire service may need to

do something to get them out.

It's a hot day and, being stuck in a glasshouse,

it's only going to get hotter.

Oh, hello. It's PC Williams calling from Dyfed-Powys police.

Apparently, you said somebody is en route cos they've locked

themselves out of the property and they're stuck in the conservatory.

Can you just inform us where they are travelling from

cos obviously the key-holder on their paper is to Hereford.

Thank you.

There is a window round the front with the beading loose

-so we can get the glass out if needs be.

-Have you got a screwdriver?

Yeah. Do you want some bottles of water in? We'll get some for you.

-Well, give us a screwdriver and we'll break that one.

-OK.

-Hello?

Just when Abby's about to nail it...

Oh, they live in Penarth so they're on their way.

-Yeah, that's great.

-Got them.

..the keys arrive.

Cheers. Bye.

Hot but not too bothered, Janice and Chris are freed from the sweatbox.

-Wahey!

-Yeah, you're in.

-Now let us out of this one!

Right. Thank you.

-I'm so embarrassed. Thank you.

-That's OK.

Well, we were just going out over to Pembroke

and as Chris shut the door, he realised

the keys were inside rather than outside of the lock so...

You know what it's like, the minute you slam the door, you know

you've done it and we'd locked that one to be safety conscious.

A bit too safety conscious, unfortunately, weren't we?

Good result.

Luckily they didn't have to wait too long, only half an hour.

They could have dehydrated or anything, really.

But, no, the key-holder lives locally so it's all resolved.

So happy, happy days.

Earlier, in Cornwall, Buddy had a run-in with a surfboard.

Oh, that's impressive.

She was seen by medics at the Urgent Care Centre in Penzance,

who sent her to the facial injuries specialist in Truro, 30 miles away.

Buddy is being seen by surgeon Saleh al Dallal.

Right, OK, so this is what we're going to do.

Just going to clean the wound and stitch it up.

All I need to do is numb you up, OK?

A couple of little pricks around the area, OK, just to numb it up

and then scrub it for you. You will be numb so you'll not feel it.

-And then stitch it up for you. All right?

-Yeah.

-Will it scar, do you think?

-There is a risk of scarring as well.

-Yeah, we can't predict it. OK? All right?

-OK, thank you.

You look really scared.

Buddy's putting on a brave face, but she has to brace herself.

Jen tries to give her friend some support.

-You all right?

-Yeah.

That's one there.

But it's all a bit too much.

JEN GROANS

-Can I just ask for some help?

-Yeah.

-You all right? NURSE:

-Hello.

-What are you doing down there? Did you have funny turn?

-Yeah.

-Oh, dear.

What are we going to do with you? Shall we see if we can sit you up?

-I just get really low blood pressure.

-Oh.

Sorry. Brilliant.

See if you can sit up a little bit

but let's just do it very slowly, all right? Come on then.

-OK?

-Sorry.

-Don't worry.

Stay there for a minute and then what we'll do is get

you to come over and sit on this other couch.

-It is quite hot in here.

-Yeah. I think I just got a bit hot.

Don't worry, it happens all the time, sweetheart.

Casualty numbers have just doubled.

But that lip isn't going to heal itself.

I felt useless.

Right, so, I'm going to scrub that with a brush.

You're doing really well.

Numb from the injection, Buddy feels no pain.

That is such a weird sensation. A weird feeling.

-Tingling? Or what sort of feeling?

-No, just when you were scrubbing it.

-Yeah.

-I can't feel it.

-Good. Excellent.

-Really weird.

It'll take a while to stitch her up,

but Buddy's more worried about her pal.

-You OK, Jen?

-Yeah, I'm OK. You all right?

-Mm-hm.

-I think I need to eat something.

-Yeah, me too.

That really hurt when he was injecting me.

I could feel her pain through my hand.

I'm glad he's not doing it with no pain relief. I'd knock him out.

How does it look? What does it look like?

-Like you've got a moustache.

-Really?

I can't even smile. It hurts. Oh.

Stitched up good and proper, Buddy can now go home.

Yeah, thanks.

-Safe journey.

-Thanks.

-Look after her.

-I'll look after her.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Bye.

Almost a month later and Buddy's back at the scene of the wipe-out.

This is where I got hit with my surfboard. Just here.

I moved 400 miles to live here and to surf, but I've made some

amazing friends and, yeah, so I live in Cornwall now.

That's my home.

The hospitals are amazing.

Lovely nurses that made me feel, you know,

really at ease and the doctor who did my stitches was really sweet.

He did a really good job so I'm really grateful. And, yeah,

they've got a good team down here.

Earlier in the programme, Dumfries paramedics John West

and Michael Harmjanz helped Kenny, who blacked out

and put his head through the wall.

-So, that hole in the wall there is your head?

-Aye.

Now the dynamic duo are onto their next rescue mission.

SIRENS WAIL

It's a local skate park-cum-BMX track where

a 13-year-old gentleman's knee is pointing the wrong way.

Visibly out of place.

The incident is only a mile or so away.

But even short journeys can be tricky to negotiate.

Once again, John's local knowledge comes in handy. As they head

towards the outskirts of town, he knows exactly where they're going.

Hopefully there's a better path over there, Michael.

13-year-old Scott might be at a skateboarding park

but he's not fallen off a skateboard.

He dislocated his knee when he tripped in a rabbit hole.

-Right, so, silly question, where are you sore?

-On my kneecap.

-I'm not actually sore, but it's very uncomfortable.

-Mm-hm.

-Neck and all that fine?

-Everything is fine, it's just my knee.

-So, you went down a hole?

-This hole where my foot is here.

-You went down this rabbit hole.

-It doesn't hurt.

I don't think I'll need gas. Hopefully not.

-Feel me touching you?

-Aye.

-Wiggle the toes.

-PHONE RINGS

-That's my mum.

I can't get up to answer it. It's in here. I can't get up to answer it.

Oh, right.

Scott's mum is trying to phone but John needs to see to his leg first.

Forget your mother the now. Right, Scott, what's with the trousers cut?

-That's from ages ago.

-Well, they're getting cut again.

-That's fine.

-Argh-ha-ha!

-Look away. Mind how he said he didn't want the gas?

Yeah, give us some of that.

Finally, Scott takes gas and air for the pain.

He's not keen, but John knows he's going to need it.

-Just look away.

-I'm all right. I'm fine.

-Put your head down.

-I don't need that. I'm fine. Honestly.

-Listen, you're not...

We're going to move it in a minute. And then you're going to be no' fine.

-So what I...

-Is this going to hurt?

-No.

-I'd rather you tell me if it's going to hurt.

-No' if you take the gas.

-Can I get this?

-The vacuum splint too, Michael, eh?

Right, Scott, keep taking the gas.

Obviously, he was in a bit of pain.

His leg was in an unnatural position.

When we exposed and examined his knee,

it turned out his knee was pointing the wrong way.

The gas and air gets to work.

HE LAUGHS

Then Scott sees the damage.

-Whoa! Holy

-BLEEP,

-that's my knee!

-Ssh. Ssh.

-Ah!

-Right, listen, I told you no to look at it.

-I'm sorry.

Scott's just discovered why gas and air is known as laughing gas.

'I gave him some laughing gas, Entonox.'

It calmed him down, eased the pain dramatically,

to the extent where he was laughing and joking.

He thought it was rather funny.

And his friends - which is a sign of the times -

were actually taking pictures of it and putting it on Facebook.

So, where do you stay? Where's your mum?

My mum says she's meeting us at hospital.

-She knows this has happened?

-Yeah. Will I have to go to an A&E, yeah?

-Mm-hm.

-Yeah, right, OK.

Right. Keep taking the gas. It's quick acting but short lasting.

-It is. It's great.

-Is it?

Keep sucking because, I'm not lying to you,

it will get a wee bit sore when we move you.

Now John and Michael immobilise Scott's knee.

Right, Scott, listen, we're sucking the air out of this.

-Oh, that's crushed down on my leg.

-Feel it?

-Yeah. That's fine.

-I'm a mountain biker. I can feel it.

-Is it supporting your leg?

A little bit, yeah. I can feel it.

Even with his knee held firmly in place,

getting him onto the stretcher is still a painful process.

-Get your head up, too, son.

-I'm trying. Sorry. Right.

-That's you. Well done.

-No, we're no' in, Michael.

It's barely a mile to the hospital. A short ride for more help.

PHONE RINGS

-That'll probably be my mum again.

-Is that your mother?

It's in the pocket, yeah.

Hello?

It's Scott's mum again. This time, John answers.

He's fine. He's got a probable dislocation to his right knee.

But we've got him on the laughing gas. Nae bother.

-Bye.

-Right, OK, that's fine.

At Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, John and Michael

hand Scott over to the A&E medics.

Oh, yeah, my knee, it's like...

Keep sucking the gas.

One, two, three.

He put his foot down a hole, fell to the ground

and realised that his knee shouldn't be pointing the way it was.

So the patella is dislocated.

He's got movement, feeling and pulse below.

I started him on Entonox...to good effect?

Took the pain from an eight to a, what, two?

-Yeah, about a two. Yeah.

-Wiggle the toes.

But just when they're about to check Scott's knee - result.

You'll never guess.

-It's back in.

-Is that back in?

-Yeah.

-Oh, that looks normal.

-That's good then, isn't it?

-Which side was sitting at?

-It was on the right, was it not?

It was over here, Scott, was it?

Up over here cos I can remember laughing at it, yeah.

When we took him to hospital and we were transferring him

from our bed to the hospital bed, his knee popped back in.

A week later and Scott reflects on his bizarre accident.

I remember just dropping my jumper off the bench

and stepping down to get it and I put my foot in a hole

and just fell and my knee popped out, basically.

-Argh-ha-ha!

-Look away.

I was gutted. I'd rather have fell off my bike

and done it, if I'm honest.

It's a bit pathetic, falling off a bench!

It's been all go for the emergency services in rural Britain.

Buddy was chasing the waves just a few days after her accident.

And she had a fantastic holiday, surfing in Bali.

Scott's leg brace and crutches

meant he was off his bike for the rest of the summer.

Not such a laughing matter after all.

And stuck-in-the-mud Tom was fine after his ordeal.

But one thing's for sure -

he won't be metal detecting on that beach any time soon.

Quiet in the countryside? You've got to be kidding!