0:00:02 > 0:00:06A close call - a moment of danger when life can hang in the balance.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11A split second where the outcome could go either way.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13I was rooted to the spot with fear.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16The difference between disaster...
0:00:16 > 0:00:19- and survival.- Our hearts dropped. This was a big crash.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23These are the people that have been there, and lived to tell the tale.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- I need an ambulance.- 15 minutes and your number would be up.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Their instincts and resources, coupled with the quick thinking
0:00:30 > 0:00:33of others, helped to pull them through...
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Could have gone the wrong way. Could easily gone the wrong way.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39..and their dramatic experiences were recorded on camera.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41There were several things that could have killed me,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43should have killed me, and didn't.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47It's a day they'll never forget, the day they had a close call.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Today on Close Calls...
0:01:06 > 0:01:09A battle against the clock to pluck a barely conscious yachtsman
0:01:09 > 0:01:13from the sea, after he falls from an isolated mooring.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18There was only one person, and he was struggling to hold him.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21He'd been holding him for...ten minutes.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24A wife's call for help as she fights to stop her husband
0:01:24 > 0:01:28bleeding to death, following a freak accident with a circular saw...
0:01:31 > 0:01:34- He really was going. - It was definitely time-critical.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Richard had lost a significant amount of blood.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40And a fire crew urge a terrified driver,
0:01:40 > 0:01:44who can't swim, to let go of the roof of his sinking car.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46You need to do this to save yourself.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48You need to grab hold of that ladder.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Conwy, North Wales.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04A lifeboat crew's body camera captures the urgent search
0:02:04 > 0:02:09for a pensioner who's fallen into the sea on a freezing January day.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11OK, OK. I'll jump on, I'll jump on.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13It's been ten minutes since David Stocks
0:02:13 > 0:02:16fell into the water from a pontoon, where his boat is moored.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20He's clinging on but he's beginning to lose consciousness.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25I did contemplate what would happen if you did just close your eyes
0:02:25 > 0:02:27and just let go.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31But David needs to stay alert if he's going to stay alive.
0:02:40 > 0:02:4370-year-old David Stocks moved to Llandudno,
0:02:43 > 0:02:47on the coast of North Wales, from his Yorkshire home 40 years ago.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50He and his partner Susan Kelly spend as much time as they can
0:02:50 > 0:02:54on their 26-foot yacht, Chiron, in nearby Conwy.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56It was something we'd always talked about.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00We'd have a boat on the river, go down, make a pot of tea,
0:03:00 > 0:03:04sit out there in the sunshine and watch the world go by.
0:03:06 > 0:03:07Just being out with nature.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10The wind going through your hair and the quiet, I think,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12more than anything.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17It's a cold and windy January afternoon in Conwy
0:03:17 > 0:03:20and David is heading out to the boat to collect some tools.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24He needs to take a water taxi from the harbour to a pontoon
0:03:24 > 0:03:26that's way out in the middle of the river,
0:03:26 > 0:03:30where his yacht is moored. It's a journey he's made many times
0:03:30 > 0:03:33but this trip turns out to be anything but routine.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37As I stepped off the boat onto the pontoon,
0:03:37 > 0:03:39I turned round to pick the rope up,
0:03:39 > 0:03:44just to tie the boat to the side, and as I turned round,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47I realised that the wind had blown the boat out
0:03:47 > 0:03:50and there was nothing there for me to reach out to.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55David desperately tries to regain his balance.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59As I teetered there, on the edge, I had it in mind that,
0:03:59 > 0:04:00"You're going in there.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03"There's no way you're going back. You idiot."
0:04:06 > 0:04:10David falls headfirst into the water.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12He's not wearing a life jacket,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15but somehow manages to grab one of the taxi boat's ropes.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18But he doesn't have the strength to pull himself out.
0:04:18 > 0:04:23The boat man was getting the life ring to pass down to me
0:04:23 > 0:04:28as I'm approaching the boat to, hopefully, pull me out of the water.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31But David knows it's not going to be that easy.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36I weigh 14st...and, wet through, probably weigh 16st,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40so there's no way he's going to pull me out of the water.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Luckily, another boat owner has seen it all and calls the coastguard.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48And at this time, we're still drifting across the river
0:04:48 > 0:04:50with the tide, heading towards the sea.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55The Mayday is relayed to the RNLI at Conwy bay.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58I was working in, literally, the house next-door
0:04:58 > 0:04:59to the life boat station.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Pager went off. It was an immediate response call.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06The personal camera, worn by helmsman Peter Hughes
0:05:06 > 0:05:08shows the speed of their response.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11We were in the lifeboat station in less than a minute,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13and I think we were actually kitted up
0:05:13 > 0:05:16and on the water within about six minutes.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25David's head is still being held above the water
0:05:25 > 0:05:28by the water taxi driver but they're drifting
0:05:28 > 0:05:30into the middle of the river.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32By this time, three or four minutes had passed
0:05:32 > 0:05:36and I'm still in the water and I'm still feeling cold.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41The boat, slowly but surely, drifted in towards the inner pontoon
0:05:41 > 0:05:42and, as luck would have it,
0:05:42 > 0:05:44it sort of settled between two yachts.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48It's a vital stroke of luck.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51But the pontoon they've been caught against is deserted.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55David's been in the freezing river for ten minutes.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57He's close to losing consciousness.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00The longer he's in the water, the greater the danger.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Hang on, hang on.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08I could have just done with somebody to put their arm around me
0:06:08 > 0:06:11and say, "It's all right. I've got you.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15"I know they can get you out of the mess that you're in."
0:06:15 > 0:06:17The lifeboat crew race around the coast.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21They search for the taxi boat and spot David hanging on for dear life.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29David is at great risk of hypothermia.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32The lifeboat volunteers need to grab him quickly.
0:06:44 > 0:06:45All right, mate.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54From when we initially arrived and he was in the water,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57he was definitely drifting into unconsciousness.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59There was only one person struggling to hold on to him.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02He'd been holding him for...ten minutes.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04So I grab hold of him.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Even then, it's going to be tricky to bring him out.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10I think, to assist us, Alan actually jumped in the water
0:07:10 > 0:07:13so we could hold on, give a little bit of assistance from below.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16It's what David has been praying for.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26I saw something orange in my right eye going past,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29which turned out to be the RIB,
0:07:29 > 0:07:33and one of the guys on the RIB jumped off in the water at the side of me.
0:07:36 > 0:07:37He put his arm round me.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44OK.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49It takes the strength of all three men to haul David onto the pontoon.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Give them to me. Put them there.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10OK. We're coming, we're coming.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20- OK.- OK.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25Even as they...I can only describe it as skull dragged me out of the water,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28it was still a feeling of relief,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31that I'm going the right way.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36I've done the going in bit. Now I'm doing the coming out bit.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55We unceremoniously carried him along the jetty.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57Dave, you OK? Yeah, all right.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06- Ready?- One, two, three, go. - 'We put him into a lifeboat.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09'I don't think it was particularly dignified but we got him in.'
0:09:11 > 0:09:12From the side.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16David has reached the safety of the lifeboat
0:09:16 > 0:09:18but he's still in real danger.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24As he was drifting in and out of consciousness,
0:09:24 > 0:09:28it was important for us to try and keep him conscious.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31One way of that, is just to engage with him and talk with him.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45David is showing signs of hypothermia.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48If he falls unconscious, his heart rate could drop dangerously low
0:09:48 > 0:09:50and he could die.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54There's one of the lifeboat crew shouting at me all the time,
0:09:54 > 0:09:55"Keep your eyes open.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57"Stay with us."
0:09:57 > 0:09:59And all I wanted to do was relax and close my eyes,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02and probably, ultimately, go to sleep.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09OK, Dave, keep on talking, mate.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11The lifeboat crew get David back to land,
0:10:11 > 0:10:15where they wrap him in a duvet to try and raise his body temperature,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18which is now dangerously low.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21The ambulance is on its way. Peter and his team need
0:10:21 > 0:10:23to look after the 70-year-old until they arrive.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Within minutes, the paramedics are on the scene
0:10:33 > 0:10:35and load David into the ambulance.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40David's partner, Susan, has been at home, totally unaware of the drama.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43She heads to the hospital as soon as she hears the news.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45They took me to where David was,
0:10:45 > 0:10:50and I think that is when it really hit home, what had happened.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54He was as white as this cloth.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56I've never seen a person so white.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58It's just like looking at a dead body.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03But, in fact, David recovers his health and colour.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08I asked them how he was and they said his heart rate was all right,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12his pulse and everything was OK, and that he was going to be OK.
0:11:12 > 0:11:13OK.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17I think, maybe, the fact is, if the lifeboat hadn't got there
0:11:17 > 0:11:21in time, I wouldn't have been sat at a hospital bedside.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25I would have been...sitting outside a mortuary, I think.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27- OK!- OK.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Three months after his life-threatening experience,
0:11:33 > 0:11:35David is back on board.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37Both he and Susan are hugely relieved
0:11:37 > 0:11:40they still have the opportunity to enjoy their retirement,
0:11:40 > 0:11:41and sail their boat.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Everything we do, we do it together.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48Everything that we've, sort of, got, we've got together.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50I don't think I could have done them,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53or would have wanted to do them, without him.
0:11:54 > 0:12:00I did contemplate what would happen if you did just close your eyes
0:12:00 > 0:12:02and just let go.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05But that's a give-up situation,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08rather than a determined, "I'm going to get out of this" situation.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11But I reckon, 15 minutes...
0:12:11 > 0:12:14and your number would be up.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17OK, you're not going to give up on me now, are you?
0:12:23 > 0:12:25Still to come on Close Calls...
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Clinging to a ladder, a driver who can't swim
0:12:28 > 0:12:33attempts to climb to safety before he's submerged in 12 feet of water.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35I was determined not to drown.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38I was determined to get back to that car
0:12:38 > 0:12:40and get on that aerial and call 999.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Melbourn, in Cambridgeshire,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54a 999 call comes through to East of England Ambulance HQ.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07A terrible accident has happened as 63-year-old Richard Game
0:13:07 > 0:13:12is chopping wood in his back garden. His wife, Brenda, is indoors.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Now it's up to her to stop the blood pumping out of his arm,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18as paramedics head to the couple's house.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21- There was quite a lot of blood. - Sort of, on the floor, the walls...
0:13:21 > 0:13:23It had obviously sprayed on the walls as well.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Richard is deteriorating fast.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27He really was going.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Brenda and Richard Game have been together since they were teenagers.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42We've been very happily married for 43 years
0:13:42 > 0:13:45and...hopefully, for another 43.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Without him, I do not know where I would be because I have a lot
0:13:48 > 0:13:55of problems health-wise, and I just really couldn't survive without him.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Richard takes his job of looking after Brenda seriously.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01He's a very practical man.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04One weekday morning in June, he's chopping up scrap wood
0:14:04 > 0:14:08to store for their wood burner, using a circular saw.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10So, you put the wood in, start the saw, and then,
0:14:10 > 0:14:14as you pull it down, the guard pulls up and cuts through the wood.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20But this saw is new and lighter than the one Richard's accustomed
0:14:20 > 0:14:24to using, and that's about to have devastating consequences.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28As I brought the saw down to cut, it caught on something.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30It was in the air and came down on my arm.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33I suppose the whole thing only took...half a second.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Brenda is inside getting ready to go out shopping,
0:14:36 > 0:14:38unaware of what's happening in the garden.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42Richard, however, instantly knows he's suffered a catastrophic injury.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Blood was literally squirting out.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50You realise immediately - this is bad.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53At that point, I rushed into the house.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57I was just getting my bag together and my shoes on.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02Five minutes later, I know I would have been out of the house.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10I could see from this room, that he had his hand over the sink,
0:15:10 > 0:15:14and I could see the blood gushing out
0:15:14 > 0:15:16so I knew it was serious.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21Brenda immediately dials 999. This is the call she made that day.
0:15:26 > 0:15:27Call handler, Megan Llewellyn,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30is trying to get as much info as possible from Brenda.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42All I was concentrating on was stopping the blood
0:15:42 > 0:15:44coming out of my arm cos, even at this point,
0:15:44 > 0:15:47it was still pulsing through my fingers, and so on.
0:16:00 > 0:16:01As soon as the call came through,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05an emergency team was dispatched to the couple's home.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08By chance, the nearest paramedics are specialists in high-risk
0:16:08 > 0:16:12emergencies and carry kit to deal with exactly this type of trauma.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16First to respond is Darrel Singh.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19From the description of the call,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22we had a circular saw and a partial amputation
0:16:22 > 0:16:26so we knew it wasn't going to be... a straightforward job.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Colleague, Simon Probert, has also heard the call.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31I think they'd mentioned there was quite a lot of bleeding
0:16:31 > 0:16:35so, obviously, the nature of that incident is quite severe.
0:16:35 > 0:16:36It could be pretty serious.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39I wouldn't want to be on a scene like that by myself
0:16:39 > 0:16:41so we offered to go along and lend a hand.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Get the patient treated a little bit quicker as well.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47But the only person who can help Richard right now is Brenda.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Brenda has to keep Richard calm.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31But Richard's beginning to lose consciousness.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34At that point, Richard was starting to slide,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37so I held the towels over his arm.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Richard's body is reacting to the extreme injury.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Then I started to feel queasy through the blood loss.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04I guess your body is literally shutting down.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Brenda fears she's losing her husband.
0:18:10 > 0:18:16He wasn't really conscious enough to talk to. He really was going.
0:18:16 > 0:18:21If the ambulance didn't arrive soon, I knew I was dying.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24I couldn't keep losing blood like this and survive.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Richard's body struggles to cope
0:18:29 > 0:18:31with the amount of blood he's losing.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45We're all aware of the dangers when we're driving
0:18:45 > 0:18:48and we hope that we could take evasive action if necessary,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51but sometimes that's where the problem begins.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56The village of Rumburgh, in Suffolk.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59A driver clings to a rescue ladder as emergency crews try
0:18:59 > 0:19:02to save him from the roof of his crashed car.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07A shocked, local resident takes photos of the incident unfolding
0:19:07 > 0:19:11in the middle of the 12-foot-deep garden pond.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14When the fire service arrive, all that's keeping the driver,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17who can't swim, from slipping into the water,
0:19:17 > 0:19:18is his hold on the car's aerial.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21He was petrified to let go of that aerial with the second hand,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24thinking, "What is going to happen if I let go of this?"
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Cos that was his lifeline. That aerial was...all he had.
0:19:36 > 0:19:4025-year-old butcher, Rick Nichols, is used to early starts.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44It's 3am on a cold March morning,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48and he's making his way to work through the winding country roads,
0:19:48 > 0:19:51when suddenly something appears in the path of his car.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55Just out of nowhere, deer come across the road.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58I just swerved away to avoid it.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02Next thing I knew, I was in about 12 feet of water.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06Rick has missed the deer, but crashed through a garden fence
0:20:06 > 0:20:11and into a tree trunk before landing in a 12-foot-deep garden pond.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16He's trapped inside the car and, even worse, he can't swim.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20The water was coming through into the car. I was panicking.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22My first reaction was just to get the seatbelt off,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25and get out of the car so I didn't drown.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27The passenger window has smashed during the collision.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31Rick manages to wriggle out as the car rapidly fills up
0:20:31 > 0:20:33and climbs onto the roof.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35Clinging to just the flimsy car radio aerial,
0:20:35 > 0:20:39he cries for help, but the nextdoor pub is closed.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42Rick can see no lights in the pitch darkness.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44As he fumbles for his mobile phone,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48he loses his grip on the car aerial and slips into the freezing water.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51The whole of me went right under the water.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53I was very determined not to drown.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57I was determined to get back to that car and get on that aerial
0:20:57 > 0:20:59and call 999.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01He can't swim.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Somehow though, he manages to get back onto the car roof.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08And he's lucky, his soaking wet phone still works.
0:21:08 > 0:21:09Rick dials 999.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13I was expecting my phone to be water-damaged
0:21:13 > 0:21:16but when I was pressing the buttons, it was still working
0:21:16 > 0:21:19so I was really lucky that it was still working after...
0:21:19 > 0:21:21it must have went about six foot under the water.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26The police, ambulance and fire service are immediately dispatched
0:21:26 > 0:21:29and turn up to find Rick in this precarious position.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32The owner of the house, Jane Davis, has awoken
0:21:32 > 0:21:36to the noise of sirens and a rescue taking place in her front garden.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39- She takes pictures on her phone. - It was very cold that night.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43This young lad is hanging on the roof of the car.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45I think, if the railings weren't there
0:21:45 > 0:21:48and the tree wasn't there, I reckon he'd had hit the pub.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Cos, you know, that must have slowed things up.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Watch commander, Stuart Hostler, is in charge of the rescue operation.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59His crew have only seconds to act.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03Rick is clinging to the car's fragile aerial to stop himself
0:22:03 > 0:22:07going back into the water, but it may not hold much longer.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10He was petrified to let go of that aerial with the second hand,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12thinking "What is going to happen if I let go of this?"
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Cos that was his lifeline. That aerial was all he had.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20The rescue team carefully place a ladder as a bridge
0:22:20 > 0:22:24to bring Rick back to dry land but he's completely terrified.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27We're talking to him all the while, and saying to him,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30"Look, we want to save you. You need to do this to save yourself.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32"You need to grab hold of that ladder."
0:22:32 > 0:22:37And after a bit of coaxing, Rick is helped across the makeshift bridge.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39And once we had him on the side of the pond,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42there was enough of us to grab him and heave him up and put him
0:22:42 > 0:22:47onto the road, to where the ambulance service took over.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52Rick is soaking wet and the overnight temperature is -2 degrees.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56The paramedics are worried he may be suffering with hypothermia
0:22:56 > 0:22:58but, surprisingly, he seems fine.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02When they took my temperature after about ten minutes of being
0:23:02 > 0:23:07in the ambulance, they were surprised that I'd almost restored to normal.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Jane's dramatic pictures show the damage to Rick's car
0:23:10 > 0:23:12as it's lifted out of the pond.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15It's clear he's had a very close call.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18If other things on that morning didn't go my way,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20I wouldn't have been here.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22He was lucky he got out the car.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24He was lucky he had something to hold on to.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26He was lucky that he had that mobile phone.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Another ten minutes in that pond and I think that would have been it.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Back in Melbourn, in Cambridgeshire,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45paramedics are heading to the home of 63-year-old Richard Game.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49He's suffering from major blood loss after slicing into his arm
0:23:49 > 0:23:50with a circular saw.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Richard's wife, Brenda, is doing all she can to save her husband's life
0:23:54 > 0:23:58by stemming the bleeding, guided by 999 call handler, Megan Llewellyn.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13The blood loss is so severe, the colour is draining from Richard.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15I started to lose him.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18He was losing so much blood and he was so pale.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21I could see he was really worried.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Brenda's trying to keep calm and stay in charge of the situation,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29while still comforting her distressed husband.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Call handler, Megan, must keep her focused.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47Brenda's now making heroic efforts to reassure Richard
0:24:47 > 0:24:49as the bleeding shows no signs of abating.
0:25:06 > 0:25:11The paramedics reach the house eight minutes after Brenda dialled 999.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18They find a kitchen splattered with Richard's blood.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21- There was quite a lot of blood. - On the floor, the walls...
0:25:21 > 0:25:23It obviously sprayed on the walls as well.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26So it painted the picture of a pretty nasty injury.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Brenda now has the crucial support she needs.
0:25:29 > 0:25:35When the ambulance arrived, I just felt utter, sheer relief
0:25:35 > 0:25:38because they know exactly what to do.
0:25:38 > 0:25:43But the crew know Richard is still in grave danger.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47A catastrophic haemorrhage is basically the first thing
0:25:47 > 0:25:48that we would try and control.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52We try and keep as much blood in the body as possible.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54One of the things I noted on the walls was,
0:25:54 > 0:25:56effectively, a spray of blood,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59and that suggested that there may have been an arterial bleed.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Bleeding from an artery is extremely serious.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04If you bleed out too much or if you get to the stage
0:26:04 > 0:26:06where you've lost too much blood,
0:26:06 > 0:26:10oxygen won't get to your brain and it can result in death, ultimately.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Darrel applies a special tourniquet to stem the blood flow.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17It's equipment that needs professional expertise.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Earlier, call-taker Megan stopped Brenda using an amateur tourniquet,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24which can cause more problems than it solves.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27The tourniquet we use has been developed in conjunction
0:26:27 > 0:26:30with the military and it's proved, tried and tested to save lives and save limbs.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34The highly skilled emergency paramedics
0:26:34 > 0:26:37arrived at the couple's home with only minutes to spare.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40It's unlikely Richard could have lasted much longer.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Yeah, it was definitely time-critical.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Richard had lost a significant amount of blood.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48He's taken to nearby Addenbrooke's Hospital, a major trauma centre
0:26:48 > 0:26:51where a medical team has already been alerted.
0:26:51 > 0:26:56They just started work on him immediately. Gave him some blood.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58But they knew at that point that he was OK.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06After his initial treatment, Richard goes into surgery the next morning.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Apparently I was down there for about eight hours.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10Obviously the artery was damaged.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13The veins had been severed and so had all the nerves,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15and so on, and the muscle.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18You've no idea what the real damage is until later on.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24A year on, Richard has realised his hand will never quite
0:27:24 > 0:27:27be the same again, but he remains upbeat.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29I can grip things but I can't release them
0:27:29 > 0:27:33so it's great down the pub - grab your pint, you never let go.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Richard and Brenda are eternally grateful to call handler, Megan,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41the ambulance crews and the team at Addenbrooke's.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44They're angels, they really are.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48They've given me my husband back, you know? They saved him.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50But paramedic, Simon, thinks it's Brenda herself
0:27:50 > 0:27:52who made the difference that day.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56The single, biggest factor for Richard was having his wife there
0:27:56 > 0:27:58to stop the bleeding for him.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02I love it, actually, that I can say "I owe my wife my life."
0:28:10 > 0:28:14That's all for today. Join us again for more Close Calls On Camera.