Episode 7 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.

And when things go wrong,

the emergency services race to the rescue...

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

Oh, man. Oh, this is a nightmare.

..going hundreds of miles against the clock,

battling the elements and braving the waves.

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 Royal Navy search and rescue team

race to a fallen walker in the Lake District.

It's no teddy bears' picnic down in the woods in Wales...

Just the one dog?

And in Cornwall, the season's just started

but it's game over for one young footballer.

HE GROANS

Britain's great outdoors.

Millions of us love to get off the beaten track

for a bit of fun and adventure,

especially in the summer.

But when things go wrong in a remote area,

you sometimes need a serious piece of kit...

Like one of these.

The Navy operate their Sea King helicopters

from just two bases in the UK.

Taking to the skies on thousands of urgent missions every year,

they're one of the countryside's essential emergency services.

They need to be prepared for anything...

..24 hours a day, whatever the weather.

Summer and winter, the search and rescue crews cover

thousands of miles to rescue those in distress,

and often collaborate with other emergency services.

HMS Gannet in south-west Scotland

is the busiest of all the search and rescue bases.

Today, the Gannet guys have been called out urgently

to the Lake District.

There's a walker in serious trouble on Haystacks,

one of the most popular peaks.

But it will take 45 minutes to reach him.

In the back are senior observer Richie Lightfoot

and paramedic and winch man Florry Ford.

25 minutes from the site, new info comes in.

The mountain rescue team have reached him.

177, that's all copied.

The hill walker has fallen 30 feet onto rocks,

ending up in water at the bottom of a steep-sided gully.

It's a really awkward site.

The Gannet crew, with their winch, look like the best bet

for getting the man out in what is shaping to be a challenging rescue.

The wild terrain they're heading for is breathtaking,

imposing mountains and stunning lakes.

But it can be treacherous.

The walker has fallen 30 feet and he needs help fast.

As observer, it's one of Richie's jobs to coordinate

with the local Cockermouth mountain rescue guys on the ground.

-It looks all right.

-Yeah.

The helicopter is hovering directly above the mountain rescue team

and the casualty.

That's a good position there.

Are you happy to go down a little bit further?

One of the MRT is just above the gully where the walker's lying.

The injured man is trapped a bit further upstream

from this section of the ravine,

out of sight beneath the chopper.

He's been lying there for several hours.

This is what they train for.

The man is badly injured, cold and wet at the bottom of a gully.

They need to get him off the hillside, fast.

Heading due south from the Lake District

is another of our national parks,

the Brecon Beacons in Wales,

520 square miles of tough terrain,

wild moorland and forest as far as the eye can see.

Sitting in the shadow of the mountains on the northern edge

of the park is the town of Brecon.

The local cop shop is run by the Dyfed Powys Police Force,

responsible for this massive area.

Sergeant Owen Dillon likes to start his day with a spot of housekeeping,

and he scrubs up a treat.

It's all part of keeping a good, positive image, really.

Doesn't look good driving around in dirty cars.

Today he's off to patrol the vast wilderness of the Brecon area.

But with such a large beat,

countryside cops like Owen often work alone.

That'll be the car dirty again.

Car crime was a big problem around here.

Travelling gangs broke into vehicles parked up in remote spots.

Over the years, what we've done is we've designed changes

to some of these car parks to try and make them safer.

We work closely with the National Parks, Forestry Commission

and the National Trust, because they've all got involvement in this area.

This is one of the car parks.

Years ago, this was a place where we quite often had cars broken into.

It just doesn't happen now

because we all work together to prevent it.

At the weekend,

loads of people come out here to enjoy a bit of country air.

Owen's found a family making the most

of the summer Saturday afternoon.

My guess is he's after a nicely barbecued sausage or two.

I've timed it wrong. I was going to come when the sausages were ready!

But even if the sausages look a bit on the burnt side,

this kind of fireside chat is a vital part of Owen's job.

-Goodbye, everyone. ALL:

-Bye!

One of the big things about Dyfed Powys is we want to be accessible.

Accessible doesn't mean just being able to go to a police station.

It's being able to talk to us when we're out and about.

So, yeah, preventing crime,

deterring criminals from having a free rein around here,

but also we're dealing with the public,

and that's what we're here for.

As you can see, it's a beautiful office.

There's definitely worse places to work.

But not everyone's on a family day out.

I just want to have a look and see what's happening

with this Polo here now, so just have a quick look.

What I'm interested in, to start with, what's inside it.

What I'll be looking for is any drugs paraphernalia,

any sort of tools or anything.

There's nothing visible in the car,

but Owen has a hunch something's not right.

He scans the woods for signs of the owners.

He spies a group of people

he reckons are in a bit of a panic, having seen him.

Yeah, I'll come back to you, WH.

The reception's gone. I'll come back to you now.

As he heads up into the trees to get a better view,

the signal goes and he loses radio contact with base.

Owen's totally on his own.

BIRDS TWEET

DOG BARKS

Time to confront whoever's down there.

Back in the awe-inspiring landscape of the Lake District,

there's an injured walker who badly needs help.

The skills and winching gear of HMS Gannet's

helicopter and crew are urgently needed to lift him to safety.

The man is trapped at the bottom of this steep gully.

Moments after this photo was taken,

a family holiday turned into a nightmare for Michael,

his daughters Imogen and Bethany, and wife Tracey.

Michael saw this cantilever rock and had to go on it

and have his picture taken.

Imogen took the photo.

Bethany and I took the opportunity to have a cup of tea.

Imogen came back, and we waited for Mike

and then realised he wasn't coming back.

After the photo, Michael tried to scramble back up to the path.

As he pulled on a rock he thought was a firm handhold,

it came away.

He fell 30 feet down a waterfall, into the gully.

I couldn't get anywhere close.

It was Imogen who was saying, "Actually, Mum,

"it's too dangerous for you. I don't think you should go down there."

And she stayed talking to him.

Lots of really helpful people came past.

We sent them down to the bottom of the mountain

because they couldn't get a phone signal.

There was nothing else that we could really do.

One of the hardest bits was when Imogen came back from the ravine

to see me and said, "Mummy, I just can't keep

"telling Daddy that somebody's going to come because nobody's coming.

"What can we do, what can we do?"

And I just said, "Look, this is your moment, Imogen,

"you have to be strong. This is a big, big challenge.

"Somebody will come, and we just have to wait."

After what must have seemed an eternity,

help has finally arrived,

both on the ground and in the air.

They make it sound straightforward, but this is a precision winch.

There's no margin for error up here in the hills.

It's quite remote, quite lonely,

and to be injured in that sort of area is quite difficult.

Obviously, if you're stuck there and you're injured,

it's places you don't want to be.

The MRT send an urgent message from below.

The downdraught from the rotor blades

is in danger of dislodging rocks above the rescue site.

We produce a lot of downwash,

and when we're set up at 40, 50 feet above,

we're probably producing about 70 knots of wind.

That's going to pick up any of the loose rocks and any debris

and move it, and if you're working below, that's quite dangerous.

70 knots is the equivalent of 80 miles an hour,

officially hurricane force.

Now a winch is out of the question,

the MRT will have to carry Michael out of the gully.

Easier said than done.

Coming up, Owen finds more than he bargained for

in the Brecon forest...

What's that for, then?

..the mountain rescue team struggle to get Michael out of the gully...

..but first, a young footballer has been rushed

to the Penzance Urgent Care Centre.

It'll get better, all right?

Head down the Cornish peninsula

until you almost fall off the tip

and you'll find beautiful beaches, pretty coves

and a historic working harbour.

Well and truly on Cornwall's tourist trail,

this is Penzance.

The local population, boosted by the swarms of summer visitors,

warrant the town having its own urgent care centre.

The nearest full-on hospital with A&E is in Truro,

30 miles away.

The staff here in Penzance include specially trained GPs and nurses,

who work alongside hospital doctors...

like staff nurse Eddie Mabgwe.

He's used to handling all sorts of traumas.

So this may sting a little bit.

He enjoys the slower pace of life down here in Cornwall.

But he's often dealing with injuries caught on the run.

What kind of injury are we dealing with?

A leg injury, possible fracture.

Hopefully help the pain a bit.

OK, so get him into the cubicle there,

get him a trolley and we'll get you sorted.

Footy-mad Francis has injured his leg

in the first game of the season.

But it's not his first trip to the urgent care centre.

Ow!

There you go. Right, Francis, you can call me Eddie, OK?

Been here before to look after you?

Yeah, when I fractured my...

Oh, did I look after you before?

Yeah, when I buckled my hand.

Oh, how long ago was that, then?

-Last year.

-Oh, last year.

Well remembered! OK.

14-year-old Francis has a nasty injury,

but he's hoping it's not going to spell the end of his season.

Nice and gentle. Excellent. Right.

Good to meet you. I'm Eddie, one of the nurses here, OK?

-Is that Dad?

-Hello, mate.

-Nice to meet you, hello.

Did you actually see it happen?

We didn't see it, but what we know is he got pushed into the dugout

-and went flying in.

-Which is concrete.

-Concrete?

-Yeah.

-Went smack.

-We think his leg smacked into it.

At first we thought he hurt his head, but he didn't.

-And did he get up straight away after that?

-No.

The pain is really kicking in,

so Francis is given gas and air.

The reality of what has happened is starting to hit home.

All right, don't worry. It'll mend up and get better, all right?

Hopefully it's not broken, all right?

-Hopefully it's just going to be a big, bad bruise and it's just going to go down...

-Hopefully.

-Hey?

-Hopefully.

-Yeah, hopefully so.

It may be the beautiful game

but even a fair tackle can have not so pretty consequences.

Ball was in midair, then cleared it away,

then it was going out for a throw.

I was trying to keep it in and someone pushed me

into the dugout and my leg felt a crack.

So it really hurt.

To find out if it's fractured, his leg is X-rayed.

Any movement is excruciating.

HE GROANS

That's it, boy.

Ow.

While we take the picture,

we'll have to get your dad to stand behind the screen over there.

Behind his head?

Just behind the screen here.

So, really very still.

Try not to move.

Still as you can, just for a few more seconds.

In the time it takes to get Francis back to the ward,

Eddie's already getting the results.

Oh!

Bad news.

It's a nasty double fracture,

which explains the horrendous pain.

How do you think it went, the X-ray?

-OK.

-You've broken it.

-Oh!

Your main bone, that's actually there, so it's halfway.

The swelling is there, you've actually broken it in two places,

-so it's like a spiral fracture across.

-Oh, I understand.

That's why all that swelling, that's why it's so painful for you as well.

-How long will I be out, roughly?

-Oh...

You're talking about four to six weeks out of football.

But there may be one perk.

Francis reckons he might be able to wriggle out of washing-up duty.

That means I don't have to do dishes for six weeks.

Don't know about that.

We can always bring a bowl to you or something.

I'm joking!

We're only winding you up. Don't wind him up.

Eddie's been in touch with a fracture specialist in Truro,

who wants to reassess the injury in a week.

So, for now, it's a full-leg cast.

If it's too painful, let me know, OK?

Then we can stop and give you some more painkillers.

This is going to be really sore.

But he's keeping it together, poor lad.

-Is it your first time in plaster then, is it?

-Yeah.

Hopefully be the last, hey, mate?

HE SOBS

I know it's hurting, darling.

Nearly there.

It's important we get it in the right position for you, mate.

It's not too bad, actually. It's quite straight.

-It looks all right, OK?

-Ow!

Nearly there now. Excellent.

If you're holding a part here now, that's it.

Over at last,

and it looks like the extra pain relief is finally kicking in.

-That's it, well done. A bit woozy?

-That's normal.

After a short, well-earned rest, there's one last thing to do.

That's better, there.

Take it easy. What you need to do, don't swing all the way.

Crutches forward. That's it.

Then do the crutch there, with the line. Excellent.

Crotch forward again, to the line, excellent. You see?

You're like a pro in them!

For now, there's the novelty of crutches.

But something tells me

that's not going to make up for missing the season.

The Brecon Beacons in Wales, a vast wilderness.

Earlier, a parked car caught the attention of Sergeant Owen Dillon

from Brecon's Roads Policing Unit.

What I'm interested in, to start with, what's inside it.

What I'll be looking for is any sort of drug paraphernalia,

any sort of tools or anything.

It looks like the owners of the car have set up camp nearby.

Yeah, I'll come back to you, WH. The reception's gone.

I'll come back to you now.

With the signal gone, Owen had no radio contact with base

as he headed into the woods to check out the scene from above.

DOG BARKS

Just want to have a look down above them.

It's an intimidating situation to walk into alone.

Owen is keen to make sure whoever is doing all the barking

is under control.

You all right, guys? Just the one dog you've got, is it?

Just the one dog?

Still tied up, is it? Cool.

Is that your car there, is it? You all right? Stay where you are.

Stay where you are.

You come in here as well, mate.

Right, looking at your eyes, all right,

there's indication you've taken some drugs.

You've possibly got some cannabis on you, have you? Stay still.

You have, haven't you? You don't move to say no, do you?

I can see there's a saw there. Is there any blades or anything in here?

-No.

-Right. OK. Get the rules sorted. I'm going to search you nicely.

If there's nothing here, I'll be leaving you in peace.

Do not move or do anything unless I tell you.

Working on your own, you've got to think a lot earlier about what could happen.

For example, for this particular case, you know, turning up

when there's a number of people out in a tent,

a good 20 minutes or half an hour away from any sort of backup,

so you've just got to be on the ball and er,

you've got to portray that image that you're in control straight away.

Because if you show that you're not in control, you don't

know what you're doing, then people will just run rings around you.

Owen must balance being totally in charge with keeping

the campers onside.

Nice hat, by the way. I wouldn't have thought you might have had any cannabis on you

with that hat, would I?

Couldn't you...couldn't you...

Couldn't you get a bigger cannabis leaf on your head? Eh?

Anything you want to tell me about?

-Don't pull away from me.

-I ain't.

Don't. Pull. Away from me, all right? Look. Face towards me. Right.

Have you got anything on you now? Turn your...

Turn round and face that way.

Worried that one of the three men is a bit jumpy

and might do a runner, Owen gets the cuffs out.

Have you been up here camping before?

What's that for, then?

You did have a ball. Did you hit it too hard or something?

Guys, I'm a fairly persistent guy. I can smell a bit of the old cannabis.

I'm getting all the indications. I'll just keep searching until I find it.

So it may be easier to tell me where it is.

-Huh?

-It's over there.

Over where? Behind this, is it? In here?

Cannabis is the most commonly used illegal drug in Britain.

These guys might think that out here they're out of reach of the law.

-Think again.

-Right, possession of cannabis is an offence, guys, right?

You don't have to say anything but it may harm your defence if not mentioned when questioned

something which you later rely on.

Anything you do say may be given in evidence.

I'm going to do checks on you in a second. This is your box, all right?

I think we'll...look, it's your possession for now,

and we'll see where we go with the others, all right?

They've been cautioned.

Now Owen takes them to his vehicle to do the paperwork.

What's going to happen now, you're going to get a fixed penalty

for disorder, for possession of cannabis.

If you fail to comply with this, you are going to end up going to court.

-All right? Understand?

-Yeah.

-You understand as well in the back there, mate? Yeah?

That caution applies to you as well and you're also going to be reported for possession of cannabis,

-all right? OK? Happy?

-Yeah.

Well, as happy as you can be about to get a £90 fine.

It's been an expensive weekend.

But the law mightn't be so lenient next time.

Maybe worth rethinking the headgear, lads.

All the best.

I was satisfied with the outcome there

because they came away with fines for the possession of cannabis.

Didn't need to take them into custody

so it meant firstly I could carry on my patrol and er, it meant

that they could carry on enjoying themselves but minus their cannabis.

It's all in a day's work for Owen,

a man who knows how to see the grass from the trees.

The Lake District.

Magnificent and beautiful but with an unforgiving edge.

Hill-walker Michael has fallen victim to the rough

terrain of Haystacks Fell.

He's trapped at the bottom of this gully and he's badly hurt.

This sort of incident happens a couple of times each year, where

people are out walking and they slip on this rock or something

and end up in quite precarious positions.

The Navy helicopter's winching gear was expected to make

the rescue straightforward.

But with loose rocks and boulders below, it was too dangerous.

'177 Charlie C.'

So now, the Cockermouth Mountain Rescue volunteers have taken charge on the ground.

The operation's been caught on mobile phone.

Michael's immobilised on a stretcher.

The rescue team are using a system of ropes and pulleys

to carefully move him out of the gulley.

Michael's two daughters and wife wait anxiously above.

And they had a sort of almost like a liaison person for the family

to come and tell us what was happening, what they were doing,

how he was doing, and they were just really good.

It's in challenging rescues like this that the mountain rescue teams

really come into their own.

This casualty fell about 30 feet.

He was quite lucky in many respects, because the gully then fell away.

If he'd continued down for another ten or 15 metres, it would have

been a fatal fall of several hundred feet.

These mountains claim lives every year.

Michael is one of the lucky ones.

The mountain rescue team packaged the casualty in situ

and then they moved him out of the gully

and up to the top of the ridge line, and at that point, we were able

to launch, land on, and actually just embark him rather than winch him.

It's taken the best part of an hour

but they've reached the top of the gully.

Despite his lengthy ordeal, Michael's in remarkable spirits.

-You've done a great job. Thank you very much.

-No worries.

-Sorry to be so stupid.

-These things happen.

Michael is going by helicopter

but his family will have to make their own way off the hill.

Bye. Thank you very much. Safe journey back. Safe walk back.

-Right, it's going to get very, very noisy.

-Yes, OK.

Just don't worry about that.

The MRT are feeling the force of the powerful downdraught.

'Just go back to the right into the five o'clock, about two yards.'

HELICOPTER DROWNS SPEECH

The terrain is too rough for landing so pilot Jamie Ross

keeps the chopper hovering just a foot above the ground.

As they hand Michael over, it's a job well done by the volunteers

of Cockermouth MRT.

'Lift off now. Straight up.'

'Charlie, this is 177.'

On-board, Florry checks to see

if Michael's damaged more than his leg.

A few minutes later, they touch down on the helipad

at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven.

One last journey by ambulance

and then Michael will finally get the medical care he badly needs.

My right leg is in a real mess, I'm afraid. Um...

No bones broken but you know, there's a lot of open flesh. Yeah.

In fact, I count myself extremely lucky.

I had an orange whistle on me which I blew like crazy

until one of my two gracious, lovely daughters found me.

Very happy.

Back in the harbour town of Penzance, the West Cornwall

Hospital's Urgent Care Centre is open for business 24 hours a day.

People with all kinds of ailments come through the doors,

including the usual dose of DIY disasters.

One of these has just arrived.

After a decade in nursing and with a background in minor injuries,

not much fazes staff nurse Eddie Mabgwe.

So what happened today?

I rolled a bit of granite

and my little finger got caught between it when it fell.

Ah.

Oh, dear, yeah.

-A bit of granite? I think that was a heavy granite, wasn't it?

-It was.

How long ago was this?

-Less than an hour ago?

-Yeah, less than an hour.

Eddie already suspects nerve damage

and the sooner a nerve injury is treated,

the better the chance of recovery.

OK.

Do you feel me touching you there?

-Can you feel that?

-No.

-No.

-Can you feel that?

-No.

-OK.

So it's obviously got nerve damage, there.

-I feel that.

-And there?

-Mm-hm.

-And you feel there?

-Yeah.

-OK.

So basically what we'll do...

First of all, we're just going to need to X-ray that

cos I don't know how far...

-whether it included the bone, as well.

-Yeah.

-OK.

So we'll do an X-ray. We take it from there.

I was rolling a bit of granite

and it just rolled awkward and trapped my hand.

It was near a hole so it fell down the hole

and caught my finger against the...

another piece of granite.

It's not really hurting but he said the nerves are not feeling anything

so that's probably why.

It's important to get the full picture

so Terry gets the right treatment.

Right, I'll give you some painkillers

and then we'll do an X-ray of that for you. OK?

Eddie orders an X-ray to see if the bone's fractured.

If it's badly damaged, Terry will have to go to Truro straight away.

Unfortunately, the X-ray reveals a nasty break.

Eddie wants Terry to see for himself.

-Come and have a look.

-I won't know what I'm really looking at anyway!

-So that's your little finger.

-Mm-hm.

-And it's snapped across there.

-So, what can we do about it?

-What we'll do...

Yeah, the doctor's going to come and have a look

-but we're going to need to send you up to Truro.

-Truro.

-Because you need to be seen by the orthopaedics team.

-OK.

So I'll put a cannula in, take some bloods, OK?

And then we'll give you a shot of antibiotics.

-OK.

-IV antibiotics. OK?

And then we'll take it from there. So, pain-wise? It's still...?

-At the moment, it's still controllable.

-OK.

Come and take a seat here. Oh, the ring.

Yeah, we'll need to take the ring off as well.

To get that off, it'll have to be cut off.

Eddie's not reaching for the metal cutters just yet.

But one way or another, the ring needs to come off.

With any injured limbs,

there is the potential that it's going to swell up.

So if it does swell up,

that will start cutting off the supply of blood to the finger

so you don't want him to have to lose another finger as well.

So we'll just take everything off, really.

It's very, very tight on there.

Well, if I have to cut it, we'll cut it.

OK?

Eddie's convinced his industrial strength lubricants

will do the trick.

It feels like it's moving now.

Bingo!

I never thought that would come off!

I saved your ring.

Terry looks chuffed.

Senior staff nurse Verity Harding gives Eddie a hand

by cleaning the wound while he sorts out some antibiotics.

Terry's wife missed Eddie's expertise

with her husband's wedding band.

-You'll not get the ring off.

-It's off.

-Oh, is it?

-He got them off. VERITY:

-You are still married!

-It's just a symbol of your union.

-Where is...?

-It's on there.

-EDDIE:

-I tried to save it.

-That must have been very difficult, to get that off.

A little bit of gel and then it came off quite easily.

Come on, you were struggling!

Their job done, time for Penzance Urgent Care Centre to pass him on.

Hopefully Truro can fix him up.

Fingers crossed!

Late on a summer's evening,

hill-walker Michael arrived by helicopter

at the West Cumberland Hospital

after a complicated rescue.

Seconds after this photo was taken by his daughter Imogen,

Michael fell 30 feet,

landing in a stream at the bottom of a rocky gully.

He was trapped there in pain and shock

for nearly three hours.

When I fell, the big rock that I was holding onto

just started coming back towards me,

so I had to jump back off it.

But since I was on a precipitous slope, I couldn't gain any leverage.

I remember somersaulting once, at least twice,

not knowing what was up and down, trying to grab onto things

and not being able to, and gaining speed.

And I think eventually I must have hit a rock and blacked out

because I don't remember any more.

I woke up in this deep ravine, a stream.

And immediately, I stood up and tried to climb out.

I mean, I was aware I had been hurt

and tried not to look at my knee too much

but it all worked, I could stand up.

I was in this stream, in a waterfall,

and I tried to climb out.

But eventually I realised there was no way.

Even an experienced climber couldn't have got out of there.

So I was resigned to the fact that I was going to have to call for help

and it hit me hard that, you know,

I couldn't cope, couldn't manage.

The alarm was raised and the Mountain Rescue team arrived

to find Michael with severe damage to his right leg and knee.

It was a very complicated procedure to get me out of there.

They were going to use a winch to lift me out

but they decided it was too dangerous

so they had to lift me back up the stream

and over the waterfalls by hand. Oh, amazing!

To be part of that was actually quite a privilege - to witness it.

Although obviously not a good condition to be in.

To enjoy it is not the right word

because I don't want anybody to go through that

but it was very interesting.

And the insight into how these professional people work,

and also the volunteers of the Cockermouth Mountain Rescue,

who were fantastic,

to see them work as a team, brilliant to be part of that!

It was a privilege.

At home in Wimbledon, the family,

including heroes of the moment - daughters Imogen and Bethany,

look back at their holiday in the Lakes.

There was another.

-It was more recent.

-Oh, that was great, actually.

What was the one with the...

-Oh, yeah, that.

-..where we came through the clouds?

Two months on, gardener Michael is still struggling with his injuries -

a fractured kneecap and damaged ligaments.

I'm very lucky to be here.

And I'm very lucky that I only hurt my knee.

If it had been my head, my back, my neck,

it could have been a very different outcome.

I'm very keen to get back on with life.

But I'm a very impatient patient

and just want to get back to normal as soon as possible.

For now, the family are just happy that Michael survived the fall

that fateful day on the fells.

Maybe next time he'll pass on the photo opp.

It's been a busy time for Britain's rural emergency services.

Terry's squashed finger needed several stitches

and a night in hospital.

It was touch and go but the specialists managed to save the tip.

Footballer Francis is out of plaster and back in training.

He's got to take it easy, though. Doctor's orders.

And fell-walker Michael continues to make good progress.

He's ditched the crutches

but it could be a year before he's back on the hills.

Quiet in the countryside?

I don't think so.