Episode 11 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...

This chap is having a heart attack. We need to get him in quickly.

There's no police courses for this.

..going hundreds of miles against the clock...

..battling the elements and braving the weather.

From fields and forests,

to cliffs and country roads,

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

with police fighting crime...

I could seize your dogs, I could seize your van,

but I'll summons you all to court.

..paramedics saving lives...

BABY CRIES

-..and wardens safeguarding our lakes.

-Come out of the way.

We're there as the emergency services pull together,

to pick up, patch up

and protect the public.

This is Countryside 999.

Coming up... Butted by a bull.

A 74-year-old is injured on a farm track.

I think it's time you hung that red matador's cape up!

Yorkshire Air Ambulance flies to a Tour de France fan

who fell into the path of a car.

And pain at the Pony Club.

GROANING Ready?

-No?

-No, no, no, no!

In Yorkshire,

helicopters from the Air Ambulance are prepared for a day's shift.

The two aircraft cover a huge area, of some 6,000 square miles...

..serving a population of over five million people.

When casualties in remote countryside need help

and when long-distance transfers risk a patient's health,

the air ambulance saves time and saves lives.

When the Tour de France came to Yorkshire

on a sunny July weekend, it gave the helimedics

their biggest-ever challenge.

Two days of racing,

road closures and an estimated four million spectators

lining every mile of the route.

ALL: # On Ilkley Moor bar t'at... #

The first day's racing started in Leeds,

before passing through the popular tourist town of Ilkley.

But there's been a serious incident, resulting in an emergency call out

for the air ambulance.

Pilot Andy Hall's en route.

With him, paramedics Dave Appleby and Andy Armitage.

The incident at Ilkley,

we just saw the crowds lining the streets. It was unbelievable.

There were so many people. I've never seen anything like it.

Due to the roads being blocked, the helicopter is really needed,

'because we simply can't get people to hospital.'

The second they hit the ground,

Andy is briefed by the on-scene paramedics.

-Hello, there.

-Hello.

-Hello, mate.

I'm Andy, one of the paramedics off of that

-yellow thing that's just flown in.

-OK.

-All right.

-You've fallen off a chair?

-Yes.

-Your leg's in the road and the car has gone over it?

-Yes, basically.

Not your lucky day, is it?

13-year-old Joe was watching the race with his mum and dad,

when he slipped onto the road and under a support car.

What we'll do is get a stretcher off the aircraft, put you on it,

lift you over and take you down to the hospital.

Am I going to be able to go with him?

We'll have to... I'll have to discuss that with the pilot, OK?

Can I just take your name and all that business?

Yes. His name's Joe.

Joe's badly-damaged leg has already been splinted

and bandaged by event paramedics.

He needs hospital treatment and there's a further complication.

Diabetes.

To control his diabetes, Joe needs regular injections of insulin,

but the immediate concern is his pain.

Pain score when you got here was ten out of ten. What is it now?

How are you feeling with your leg now? Is it still...?

What pain level is it now?

Painful, though? Do you want a little bit more morphine?

Do you want to give him that little bit and then...? Good lad.

-Joe?

-Yeah.

-We've got a stretcher just at the left-hand side, right?

If somebody supports your leg, do you think you'll be able to sit up

a little bit and just shuffle onto that bed?

-Yes?

-Yes.

-Are you cold?

-No.

-You're not cold.

When we first got here, he was shivering.

I'm not surprised, with everything that's happened.

If you sit up a little bit,

just use your hands just to shuffle yourself over. That's it.

-Just a bit more.

-That's it, well done.

-We'll lift you up a little bit, all right?

-We'll sit you up, all right?

-All right?

-You just relax yourself back.

I'll just give Leeds a ring, and take him there. It's nasty.

Andy wants to take Joe to the specialist trauma team

at Leeds General Infirmary.

But it's a busy day for the emergency services,

so he checks they have capacity.

I'm just wondering if we can bring a patient to you?

He's 13 years old, with an open fractured left tib and fib.

It sounds quite nasty. I think it's probably best

if we bring him to you guys, to be honest with you.

Given Joe's age and diabetes,

it's a reassurance that mum Debbie can come along, too.

We'll put your little headset on, so you can hear us.

If I put my hand up and say, "Don't talk," just don't talk,

because as you can imagine there's a lot of helicopters around.

Andy, the pilot, needs to talk to people.

Because of the Tour, not only are roads closed,

but the skies are also dangerously congested.

Look, there, mate.

There are camera helicopters filming the race...

..and another Yorkshire air ambulance is also heading

to Leeds General Infirmary.

He was 20 miles out, so he'll probably be about 15 miles out now.

-Yes.

-I think we're going to cross, as we get to Leeds, I think.

-Yes.

-Should be about 11 o'clock, shouldn't he?

-Yes.

-Ish.

-Yes.

Air desk, we are about two minutes from landing.

Have we got any tee-up on the other aircraft?

Right, OK.

With the other chopper delayed, pilot Andy has a clear run

on to the rooftop hospital helipad.

We are on top of the LGI, Leeds General.

We'll get you onto a stretcher and take you down into A & E.

OK?

Hold on, mate.

As pilot Andy lifts the chopper, to let the second air ambulance land...

..paramedic Andy briefs the trauma team.

Been stood on a chair, watching Tour de France go through.

He's fallen off the chair. His legs have ended on the road.

One of the supporting vehicles has gone over his left leg.

-Oh, poor lad.

-He has an open fracture tib.

The crews dealt with it. Obs, all right. They said, no C spine injury.

I don't think there's any other injury.

-Otherwise fit and well.

-Apart from, he's got insulin-dependent diabetes.

And that's his mum.

We've done a lot of flying on the Tour de France day

and it's an experience

'I won't ever forget. I think the first incident I went on,'

when we landed on the hospital,

there was seven or eight helicopters in the distance,

which is just unprecedented. It's just so much excitement

and you almost feel that you are part of it when you land on the scene.

But then you've got a job to do, yourself,

so you've got to come back down to earth

and crack on with the patient and help that young lad

and make sure that his leg's OK and get him to hospital.

Riding a race bike isn't the only way of seeing Britain's

countryside from a saddle.

In the unspoilt, open hills of Dumfries and Galloway

horse riding is as popular as ever.

From the annual tradition of common riding,

marking the boundaries of border towns, to Pony Club meets,

events are held throughout the summer.

Today a crew from Dumfries Ambulance Station is responding

to an emergency call from a local horse show.

Paramedic Paul Malner drives,

as trainee Ali Armstrong is updated on the incident.

From Dumfries, it should be a quick four-mile trip to the horse show,

just outside the village of Terregles.

But with only a postcode to go on,

finding the exact location is not proving easy.

The sat nav isn't getting them there.

Ali radios their base for help.

Yeah, we've arrived at the address given, quoted on the terrafix,

and there doesn't seem to be any horse event there.

Have you got any further information, over?

ELECTRONIC BEEPING

Oh!

Now, the radio's dropping out, as well.

Excuse me, do you know

if there is a horse and trials event anywhere near here?

Thank you very much. See you later. Thanks.

It always helps when you get a bit of local knowledge.

If you want to find a horse show, ask a man on a horse.

There we go.

So, that's us eventually found the patient.

As you can see, it's not an exact postcode location, it's just a field.

Hi, are you OK?

Right then, Susan. What exactly happened? Can you remember?

-The wind blew the marquee over.

-Was she holding on to it?

And it took it with me.

And her shoulder...

Right. I see.

Susan is the organiser of the Pony Club Show.

But she's not been injured by a pony.

Instead, she was holding on to a marquee,

when a gust of wind took it, and her, into the air.

Can we give you a hand, just to roll you around?

The paramedics fear Susan's dislocated her shoulder.

It's an easy and notoriously painful joint to dislocate.

She's been given entonox - nitrous oxide and oxygen -

pain relief also used in childbirth.

How are you feeling, Susan?

We definitely think the gas there should been helping.

-Has she been sick at all, no?

-No.

-No.

Right, Susan. I'll try and roll you over towards our side here, OK?

Have you any other pain, apart from your shoulder, Susan? No.

All the pain's in the shoulder.

Susan's immobilised by pain and needs to get to hospital,

but Ali and Paul are struggling to get her off the ground.

And it's now starting to rain.

Susan, can you go the other way?

-No, no, no.

-It's all right.

No, no, no! No, no, no, no, no, no.

When not covering one of the world's greatest sporting events,

the Yorkshire Air Ambulance is on emergency call in the countryside

every day of the year.

It's an area with a rural economy worth almost £1 billion.

Farming is big business, but it comes at a cost.

The work can be tough, dangerous

and solitary.

On average, one person is killed in the UK every week

as a direct result of agricultural work.

But when accidents happen deep in the countryside,

getting treatment quickly is a life-saver.

A woman's been attacked by a bull. It's a serious accident.

It's a job for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

As the paramedics gear up,

pilot Andy Lister prepares the chopper for takeoff.

From the airbase near Wakefield,

it's a 17-mile flight to the location -

a farm south of Bradford.

In the air are paramedics Paul Kilner and Al Day.

With just a grid reference to go on,

they have to seek out the location - a farm track.

They spot a paramedics' car and land close by.

Al joins his Air Ambulance colleague, Andy Armitage.

Today, Andy's working as a first response, road-based paramedic.

He called in the helicopter.

BELLOWING

The bull attacked 74-year-old farmer Shirley,

as she was moving cattle along the track.

A neighbouring farmer saw it happen.

Basically, I came down to help the other farmer. The cows had got out.

We tried to get them down the lane, but the bull was bit agitated

and knocked her flying into the bush.

Having knocked Shirley into the hedge,

the bull butted her repeatedly, causing serious injuries.

As her daughter Helen comforts her, Andy and Al diagnose her injuries.

But the bull's still close by.

Only an old gate and fence separate it from everybody on the track.

-Just keep your eye that way, all right?

-Yeah, yeah.

Just trying to get a handle on this bull, Andy.

Pilot Andy keeps a lookout, as paramedic Paul treats Shirley.

We're just going to give her some pain relief,

cos she's complaining of having some pain.

They are organising that. At the moment, we have the farming lads

sorting out these animals, cos we have a bull that's quite agitated.

The concern is that's quite a big animal to have agitated.

So, at this moment, we're protecting ourselves with this vehicle

and the lads are trying to control this animal.

This bull's trying to get out again. Gary's on his way back.

Yeah, he is trying to... He's trying to lift that wood fence.

Gary's coming down Wyke Lane now.

The paramedics can't afford to be distracted.

Shirley needs their full attention.

Can you open your eyes? If you look at me, that is my hip there.

-No, it isn't there. Down there, on the pelvic bone.

-On the bone?

It's here.

-On that bone?

-Yeah.

-OK.

'When you have a couple of tonnes'

of animal come towards you, hits you and then tosses you in the air,

you aren't going to come off lightly from that, it's almost inevitable.

Especially if you are a little bit more senior.

When things are a bit more brittle,

'it's almost inevitable that there's going to be some breaks

'and some serious injuries.'

As the three paramedics attend Shirley, family, farm hands

and friends concentrate on keeping the bull under control.

If it's happened to one person, it could happen to a second.

The second could be you, when you get there, so you've got to be

thinking about the safety of yourself, of your crewmates

and the patient.

It could easily strike again and that's the last thing you want.

At a Pony Club Show near Dumfries, event organiser Susan is grounded.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no!

Holding on to a marquee in the wind, she fell heavily.

She went to hold on to it and it took her with it.

-Obviously, your shoulder's...

-She was trying a Mary Poppins.

Right, I see!

Susan's in extreme pain, with a suspected dislocated shoulder.

Have you given her any pain relief?

Trainee paramedic Ali Armstrong

goes to the ambulance to fetch extra pain relief.

The patient's in quite a bit of pain, so the paramedics have to try

and canulate and give some morphine, to move the patient

off the ground. She is in quite a bit of discomfort now.

As a student with only four months' experience,

Ali can't administer morphine.

He watches on, as colleague Paul Malner takes over.

Right, Susan, a wee pinprick coming up, OK?

So, have you had a good time up till now, Susan?

-It's been going well.

-Party animals!

-Are they? Big night last night,

-was it?!

-No.

-No!

So, you're trying to blame that on... It was the wind, wasn't it?!

The paramedics know Susan's shoulder is damaged,

but Ali checks for other injuries.

Susan, I'll just check your pulse again,

just to make sure we have got good circulation.

I've got a good pulse there. Can I just get your thumb again, please?

He's looking for circulation issues. A dislocated shoulder can restrict

blood flow to the rest of the arm.

That's fine. Just wiggle your fingers there for me again.

-Getting pins and needles now?

-No.

-You OK? That's fine, Susan. No bother.

After more pain relief, it's time for another attempt

-at getting Susan up.

-How are you feeling now, Susan? Are you OK?

-I don't know.

-Right, if I give you a hand with this shoulder

-and Alistair there...

-I'll just try and support it as much...

-..to stop it dropping, OK?

-OK.

-If you come back up, onto your knees.

-Right, Susan.

-Oh, oh, oh. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. no.

-Put your arm up there, like that.

-All right, Susan. You OK?

-You scream if you need to, Susan, OK?

-Argh!

-Ready?

-Argh! Argh!

-It's all right, it's all right.

-Argh!

-Well done.

-You're OK.

-Argh!

You're OK. You're OK. I've got your arm. It's OK.

Argh!

Now Susan's rolled onto her back, they need to get her upright.

I'm just going to have to sit you up, OK? I'll give you a wee hand.

Two seconds. I'll get this to support it before this rain starts.

Do you want a wee bit more gas, before we go for the next manoeuvre?

Can somebody get the gas? I'm supporting Susan's head.

Just take a few more whiffs.

We'll sit you up, Susan.

-All right.

-Well done.

Is that OK there, yeah? Can I just see your hand again, please, Susan,

just to check we've... Can you wiggle your fingers for me?

-Up.

-There we go.

Still in pain, Susan's guided gently into the ambulance.

There you go, Susan, take a seat on there.

Paul looks after Susan, while Ali takes the wheel.

Thanks, now. See you later.

When you have only been on the road four months,

it's a very steep learning curve. Before, I was a lorry driver,

so it's definitely a big change for me,

so I think what the ambulance service look for

is life experience, rather than first-aid experience,

although it does help.

All jobs, I still... It's fair to say, you freeze for a moment,

until you actually assess what is going on.

It's not as natural as Paul, who has been in the job 30 years

and seen most of it. A lot of jobs, it is the first injury or accident

you've been for that job, so, yeah, a very steep learning curve. Very.

In hospital in Dumfries, Susan's pain relief seems to be kicking in

and she's able to do more by herself.

How do you feel about sliding across to the bed yourself?

-Can you manage to shuffle over?

-Think so, yeah.

-Give it a go, anyway.

-It is starting to work now, is it?

-I'd be better actually on my feet.

-You will feel a bit woozy, with that morphine.

-You OK?

-Mm-hm.

There you go.

Right, then, Susan. Best of luck.

That was quite unique.

I can imagine holding the tent and the gust of wind,

it was just enough to jerk the shoulder out of place and she was

in quite a bit of discomfort, so...

She did have my sympathy! I think it was quite a big day for Susan,

as well.

Just getting the ambulance tidied up, basically,

and...ready to head back to the station for breakfast, I think!

That is what we were in the middle of cooking before we got the job!

In the northeast of England,

County Durham covers an area of over 850 square miles.

More than half of it is agricultural land.

But however peaceful it looks, police on patrol know

crime in the countryside presents as big a challenge as in the city.

PC Kevin Hall's been a copper for 14 years,

looking after the back lanes and byways of his countryside beat.

Rural crime is a significant problem, especially for those

who are affected by it and who are

victims of crime. It affects every farmer, in some aspects,

cos they are vulnerable, due to their location.

Countryside crime is on the up.

Livestock and equipment theft costs the UK rural economy

nearly £45 million a year.

With criminals operating under the cover of darkness...

..the Durham Constabulary work around the clock to catch them.

It's 8pm and, at his base, in the town of Consett,

PC Kevin briefs a team about to go out on special

night-time manoeuvres - Operation Farmwatch.

The crimes are all fairly sporadic around the whole of the area.

There is nothing, really, as a hotspot.

Farmwatch is an operation that we run throughout the year.

It is a huge multi-agency operation, involving Durham Constabulary

and all the surrounding forces.

By the time it gets to a certain point in the night,

any vehicles, you can stop anything. Okey doke. Any questions?

'It is really a massive show of flying the flag to the criminals

'that we are out there, keeping out eyes and ears peeled,'

looking for rural crime.

We usually have around 80-100 police officers and maybe about

120 volunteers around the region.

You never know what you're going to stop. You could stop any car

and uncover a multitude of offences - burglary, theft, poaching offences,

thefts of diesel. Vehicles being stopped and diesel has been recovered

and males have been arrested.

Anything can come up. When you're out in the early hours of the morning,

you can come across all sorts of different characters

and people around.

PC Kevin spots a suspicious car down a remote country lane.

It can be a short cut.

He sets off in pursuit.

RADIO COMMS

Can I bother you for a code two vehicle check, please?

Kevin's about to get out and talk to the driver, but then...

It's just stopped and then it's noticed I was the police

and it's continued.

Control get back with the car's details.

-'Fiat Panda?'

-Yes, yes.

OK, that's great. Could you e-mail that to me and keep it on your screen

until we get it stopped?

I am just on a single track country lane, at the moment.

I haven't attempted to stop it,

but it's not making any attempt to stop itself.

He calls for backup.

I'm going to come out on the main road from Cornsay to Lanchester.

-We're seconds away from there.

-Like I say, it is a single track road

that I'm on. He knows I'm behind him.

The car pulls over...

2158, the vehicle's just stopped on the main road.

..just as Kevin's backup arrives.

Hello, there. Are you lost?

-We are doing a treasure hunt.

-Right, right. Did you notice

it was police before, when you pulled over?

No, I looked in the mirror and I could see that there was

somebody with a torch. We thought it was somebody else reading the map.

-We thought they were cheating!

-Right, OK!

-Who is the registered keeper of the vehicle?

-That's me.

The driver's details check out.

We've got a Farmwatch operation on tonight around the whole

of the county,

basically looking for any rural crime. Hence, when I followed you

down there and you stopped, then continued, I thought you were

going to make off. OK, right. Take care. Ta-da.

It's Wycombe & District Motor Club. We do a lot of events and,

once every few months, if the weather's nice,

we try and hold a navigational event like this.

-They are on a treasure hunt.

-Treasure hunt?

-Treasure hunt.

I got out of the car and then there are three police cars

and a police van all parked behind us. I have never seen anybody

-turn up so quick!

-He had seen the vehicle, but not as a police vehicle.

He thought, "I'm going to get the better of them" and so he made off,

if you like, away from his competition.

But it was all in good humour. He appreciated what we were doing.

We explained what we were doing. He totally understood where we were

-coming from.

-He said it was about Farmwatch,

which I think is brilliant.

We've suffered, where somebody has stolen one of our trailers

once in the past, so it's quite close to my heart.

Just another good example of, you never know what you're going

to come across when you're policing the rural communities.

Tonight's operation may not have captured any countryside criminals,

but for Kevin, it's still been worthwhile.

Tonight, for the Farmwatch, I think we can give members of the community

some confidence that we are out there in the rural community,

policing the area, preventing crime.

On the whole, it's been a positive night.

The plan is that I go home, get some sleep and back in tomorrow.

On a farm track four miles south of Bradford,

74-year-old Shirley has been attacked by a bull.

She could have multiple injuries.

Yeah, roger, this lady's been trampled by one of the bulls

that's been agitated. She's complaining of abdominal pain,

chest pains, so we are just giving her some pain relief.

it looks like we probably will be transferring this lady to hospital.

Shirley's daughter Helen is at her side,

along with three paramedics from Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

How did you land, Shirley? Do you remember landing?

The bull that attacked Shirley has been removed to a field,

but with only a flimsy gate between them...

..paramedic Al Day has concerns.

'The bull's still there. He's not a happy bunny.'

For whatever reason, he has attacked one person already, we know that.

So, who is to say he is not going to attack another one?

Especially when the second person is wearing a bright orange suit.

It's not the choice of colour you would be wearing

if you were going to try and calm a bull down, I don't think.

If the bull's trapped, so are the paramedics.

A barbed-wire fence blocks their way to the waiting helicopter.

-Gary!

-Gary!

Wire cutters! Can I have some wire cutters?

-We need some cutters for the wire.

-That's the universal sign

for wire cutters.

Just make us a little gap through there, will you?

Thank you.

There is a gap here, anyway.

-Will that do for you?

-Yeah, that's lovely. Thanks ever so much.

-What's the plan?

-We're going to scoop her up.

Al fears Shirley may have spinal injuries.

To prevent further damage, a scoop stretcher will slide beneath her

and minimise movement. A brace will also protect her neck.

Just keep your head still, Shirley. Let go. Just relax that head.

Just relax it. You happy, Al?

I an watching a load of cows running towards us, that's all.

I think we're all right.

Any disturbance now could be disastrous.

It's a critical time for Shirley.

If we're going to move her, shall we just put the board next to her

-and lift her onto it?

-Yeah. No, no, keep your head relaxed, Shirley.

-Just you relax. We'll do the work.

-You want to grab her from that side?

All right. Ready, steady and lift.

-No, no, no.

-It's not going to happen.

-And again.

-Ready, steady and lift.

-That's it.

-There you go, love.

Nice and stable. Don't you move.

9.8, just to give you an update,

we're just going to lift to the aircraft.

hoping to lift in the next five, six minutes, over.

Shirley needs to get to the helicopter and away to hospital,

but, first, pilot Andy Lister turns cowhand.

HE MOOS

Did you like the way I did that?

A bit like Dr Doolittle. A bit of animal magnetism.

Go on, get away!

I'm a natural!

'There is a lot going on, really.

'It is really important, when somebody has been involved in'

a traumatic incident that you try and put them at ease.

-How old are you, Shirley?

-Eh?

-How old are you, sweetheart?

-Too old to be running after bulls!

-Yeah.

-74.

'If we can strike up a normal conversation,'

with somebody, it allow us to subtly assess their level of consciousness.

So, I think it is time you hung that red matador's cape up.

'And if you are having a little bit of a laugh and a joke

'with somebody and they are responding appropriately,'

that is a good sign, if you have had some sort of

serious traumatic injury.

I know that, love.

I've told them to kill it before.

-Have you?

-Send it to Spain.

-This is going to go tight, Shirley.

-Round your hips, like we said.

That is quite normal.

Just to keep that nice and steady, all right?

Shirley's wrapped in a pelvic binder,

to stabilise her injuries for the journey to Leeds General Infirmary.

All right, Shirley?

So, we're going to fly you down to the LGI, all right? You OK?

What's happening?

-On there?

-Yeah.

-Did that hurt before the incident or is it since then?

-When it stood on you?

-Where he booted me.

-Where he booted you.

Did it get you again?

You're just a bit thirsty and stuff? Yeah, you will be.

Shirley's had a terrifying ordeal,

but she's only a five-minute flight away from hospital.

The safety fire crew help take her down to A & E.

This is Shirley. She's a farmer. They'd been trying to deal with

some bulls and cows in a field and this particular bull charged her,

tossed her into a hedge and then butted her a couple of times.

Shirley's now in the care of the hospital doctors.

With suspected multiple injuries,

including a possible fractured spine,

she could be facing a long recovery.

Farmers and people out in more rural areas,

they know that they live in a remote place and when they need help,

they need help. They normally only seek medical attention

when they are in real dire straits and I suppose that's when we come in.

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

Shirley fractured three bones and, after ten days in hospital,

had to wear a back brace for several months.

She's now eased back into work on the family farm.

Susan's shoulder was not dislocated, but it was fractured.

She was off work for nine weeks.

And Joe broke multiple bones in his foot,

which also required a skin graft.

He was on crutches for nearly five months.

And you thought it was quiet in the countryside!