Episode 2 Close Calls: On Camera

A close call - a moment of danger when life can hang in the balance.

What would happen if I wasn't found, or didn't find a way out of it?

A split second when the outcome could go either way.

It's a choice. Life or death.

The difference between disaster and survival.

We saw a lady who was critically ill, if not dying in front of us.

I kept thinking the hotel was going to fall on us.

These are the people that have been there and lived to tell the tale.

It's a day they'll never forget.

The day they had a close call.

Today, on Close Calls...

teacher Lorraine set out to enjoy a stroll along the clifftop.

But she ended up halfway down this sheer drop,

buried in a pit of oozing mud.

She was actually slowly sinking further into the clay.

The coastguard, the fire service and a helicopter are called.

She was deteriorating.

She was showing signs of becoming hypothermic.

First, one rescue attempt fails,

then another.

If they don't reach her soon,

Lorraine could die from the cold,

or be swallowed up by the thick clay mud.

Also today...

..an excited teenager anxious to get to a friend's party

leaps off the school bus.

She checks the road to the left,

but not to the right.

She doesn't see the car coming.

And it can't stop.

The impact sends her crashing into the windscreen,

and her shoes flying into the air.

It happened in, you know, moments.

It was very shocking.

Her distraught dad rushes to the scene.

When I received the phone call, I just went into sheer panic.

Trimingham, on the North Norfolk coast.

A towering, 17-metre cliff face,

partially covered in thick, oozing clay.

Lorraine has tried to climb down to rescue her stranded dog,

but now she's become stuck and she's sinking deeper and deeper

into what's fast becoming a muddy grave.

I knew it was quite a desolate, deserted place,

so I knew our chances were quite slim.

Lorraine faces the numbing fear no-one will find her.

But even when, by chance, help does arrive,

her rescuers face an epic struggle.

Repeated attempts to free her from the quagmire end in failure.

Nobody could actually get near her.

Lorraine's last hope of rescue

is for a helicopter crew to reach her

before she's suffocated in the freezing-cold mud.

But her strength is fading fast.

49-year-old Lorraine lives near Cambridge,

where she is a primary school teacher.

I very much enjoy working with the children.

Very involved with the parents and the families,

the staff, the whole school.

When she's not at work,

Lorraine spends a lot of time out walking her two dogs,

Olive and Trixie.

Trixie is a rescue dog from Bedford.

Olive is a very bouncy terrier.

She's a Westie and a Yorkie.

She's my little pal.

But one winter's day,

a bracing walk along the coast with Olive

turns into a life-and-death situation.

Lorraine and her partner have just seen in the New Year

in the rural village of Trimingham in North Norfolk.

We went to a friend's holiday cottage.

Been to the area before.

We spend a lot of time in Norfolk, so really like it there.

Later, they're planning on going to the local town of Cromer

to see the New Year's Day firework display.

But before that, Lorraine's partner and their friend

decide to go food shopping.

I said, "I don't want to go shopping,

"I'd like to walk the dog,

"because I'd rather walk along the cliffs with Olive

"on such a beautiful day."

You could see over the sea.

You could see the lovely landscape.

It might be sunny, but the temperature is only four degrees.

As Lorraine heads out for her walk, she's given some helpful advice.

My partner said to me, "Make sure you keep the dog on the lead."

Setting out in a buoyant mood, Lorraine heeds the warning.

But then a few minutes later, she gets distracted.

I was trying to take a picture.

Olive was pulling at the lead.

So, I dropped the lead just for a moment.

I just thought she would stay by my feet.

And when I'd taken the picture and had a look, she was gone.

Olive has fallen around three metres down the cliff.

I thought I don't believe that this has happened,

because we'd only just spoken about it that morning.

The tiny terrier is stuck

and can't get back up.

She's not a very big dog.

I just thought, "I need to help her."

She still had her lead on,

so I thought I could pull her back to the top of the cliff.

This is the exact spot

where Lorraine's dog fell from the clifftop.

It's the highest point on the North Norfolk coast.

It was OK initially.

So I slid down,

I put Olive on my lap,

and kind of slid about halfway down.

Got to a bit and thought,

"Right, I'm nearly there,"

and then couldn't move.

And that's when I thought, "Oh, dear. This is bad."

It was really, really heavy mud.

It kind of sucked me in.

I couldn't lift my arms up.

I took my shoes off, because my shoes had become all muddy

and I thought they'd... I'd be able to move

if I sort of didn't have them on.

Threw them over to the side,

because I thought I could kind of roll over where it was drier,

and then realised that it was mud all around me.

I sort of wiggled and got my phone out of my pocket,

realised that I didn't have a signal.

But kind of somewhere in my head thought, "Right,

"keep it dry, because they might be able to track you."

So, I popped it in my bra, which was still dry.

-I just couldn't move.

-To her horror,

Lorraine realises she has slid over 30 metres down the cliff face

and is now stuck in freezing-cold clay mud.

Olive started shivering, so I wrapped her up in my scarf.

Lorraine pulls Olive into her and cradles her on her stomach.

Caked in mud, Olive is barely visible,

wrapped in the scarf with her head on her owner's shoulder.

With her dog safe for now, Lorraine tries to raise the alarm.

I was shouting, "Come and find me."

Singing. Just anything to get someone's attention.

But there's no response.

Olive was on top of me, so we kind of kept each other warm.

She was very quiet.

Just kept looking at me as if to say, "What are we doing here?"

I was like, "Well, it's you,

"you stupid dog. It's your fault."

Lorraine's trying to keep her spirits up.

But now the weather begins to change.

The sun disappeared over the cliff and then it got really cold.

Really, really cold.

I knew it was quite a desolate, deserted place.

I hadn't seen anyone walk on the previous two or three days

that I'd been walking there.

So I knew our chances were quite slim.

Lorraine's starting to fear the worst.

It's New Year's Day,

and she knows few people will be out.

As I was laying there, I thought... I was kind of planning.

I was thinking, "Who's going to tell my mum and dad?"

You know, someone would have to tell them, my partner, my friends.

The children in my class, the children in my school.

I really thought, "If someone doesn't find us,

"then this is the end."

But Lorraine is not the only one out walking today.

Retired policeman Alan Mills lives in Trimingham

and is out exercising his dogs, Heidi and Hudson.

Went out for our usual walk,

full of the joys of spring.

It was cold.

But a pleasant walk.

As we walked along, they suddenly ran on ahead

and peered over the clifftop down towards the beach.

I realised then that something was taking their interest.

All of a sudden, I saw a dog's head come over the side

and I shouted, "Quick, go and get your mum, go and get your dad."

Just to try and keep it interested, so it doesn't just run off.

And then another dog head came over

and they were both cocking their heads, listening to me,

looking at me as if to say, "Why are you down there?

"That's really stupid."

And when I reached a point near to where they were,

I could hear shouting coming from down on the cliff face.

From the top of the cliff,

it's very difficult for Alan to make out Lorraine's position.

Being covered in mud, she blended in perfectly with her surroundings.

She was very scared.

Really, I think, had begun to think

that she wasn't going to get out of there.

I just shouted at him, "Please help me, I'm stuck."

And he just said, in a very good-natured voice, "You silly girl.

"What are you doing down there?"

I was just flooded with relief.

So happy, because I knew that once somebody knew I was there,

they would come and get me.

But, in fact, Lorraine's ordeal is far from over.

Later - rescue bids

by both the coastguard and the fire service are thwarted.

Nobody could actually get near her.

She was showing signs of becoming hypothermic.

An urgent call goes out for a helicopter.

But they, too, find Lorraine is just out of reach.

The winchman sunk instantly up to his waist.

They're running out of time.

We often see people walking down the road looking at their phones.

Lots of us do it. But we're about to see

exactly why we mustn't get distracted when crossing the road.

Thank goodness for drivers like this one,

who keep within the speed limit.

Lingdale, North Yorkshire.

It's tea-time.

A schoolgirl heading home jumps off the bus

and heads around the front.

She doesn't see the car overtaking.

In a split second she's in the air.

Her shoes fly off with the impact as she hits the windscreen.

Neighbour Susan witnesses the accident.

It happened in moments.

It was very shocking.

And a distraught dad is left fearing the worst.

Panic and adrenaline takes over.

Emily and her doting dad, Philip, have a very close relationship.

What's that?

I can't even put into words how much Dad means to me.

He's my absolute everything.

I've only got one daughter.

She means the world to me.

She's creative, she's funny,

she's really thoughtful and sensitive.

She's always very polite.

But she does have what I call Emily-isms,

which are "thick moments", if you like.

I would do a spray paint,

but I don't fancy spray-painting the carpet blue again.

With these consequences, usually.

But one particular Emily-ism

will have a very dangerous consequence,

putting her life on the line.

It's the end of a school day in February.

Emily is excited about going to a friend's party later that evening.

I was on the bus with my friend, Leia,

and I was really looking forward to the party that night.

First, though, she's meant to be having a meal at her dad's house.

I texted her when I thought she was leaving school,

just to let her know that I was making tea.

Cos I knew she was going to a party, as well.

So, I thought, well, she'll be in a rush,

probably won't eat later,

so that was the idea.

But Emily changes plan at the last minute.

Her parents are no longer together

and, instead of getting off at Dad's,

she travels two more stops to her mum's to pick up some clothes first.

As she gets off the bus,

she replies to her father's text.

And I jumped off and I paused at the side of the road.

And I think that's when I was texting Dad back.

Then when I'd sent the text, I ran out.

The bus has stopped in a 30mph zone.

It's onboard camera captures what happens next.

Horrified, neighbour Susan watches it happen.

I saw the bus pull up.

It happened in, you know, moments.

And to actually see her flying through the air -

it was very shocking.

My first instinct was, oh, my goodness,

get out there and see if she was OK.

Emily's crossed the road right in front of the parked bus,

so she can't see the car

that's coming round the side to overtake it.

The driver doesn't have a chance to stop.

The sheer force of the impact

sends Emily's shoes flying high into the air,

while she goes headfirst into the windscreen.

She then somersaults off the bonnet,

landing in front of the car.

The camera shows passers-by rushing to help,

as well as the shocked driver of the car, who's unharmed.

Emily is lying in the road, but she's conscious at least.

It's like running at 100mph straight into a brick wall,

and just stopping.

It just takes your breath away.

It's like being punched in the throat at the same time.

It just completely winds you.

And I was, like, trying to stand up, you know,

push my way up onto my legs, and my legs just wouldn't take it.

My body couldn't process what was going on.

Like, it was just confusing.

You know, I was more in shock than anything.

Susan calls the emergency services.

The only thing I can remember thinking was, you know,

"I hope she's OK.

"I hope she's not badly injured."

Back at the house half a mile away,

dad Philip is wondering where Emily has got to.

I'd seen some of the other schoolkids walk past the house,

so I thought the bus must be gone.

I just put the tea on hold.

I thought, "She probably won't be long."

But Emily's mum has been told about the accident

and calls Philip straightaway

to tell him Emily's been hit by a car.

When I received the phone call, I just went into sheer panic.

I don't think I even locked the door.

I just came straight out the house, jumped in the car.

I was only two minutes away, so I came down,

and that's when I saw Emily lying in the road.

The people around Emily keep her still as her injuries aren't known.

First thing I thought of was, "Is she going to be OK?

"Will she be disabled?

"Will she be in a wheelchair?"

He didn't let go of my hand the whole time I was in the road.

Kept talking to me constantly, like, "Emily, you're all right.

"You're going to be OK. The ambulance is on its way."

Kept explaining to me what had happened, over and over.

I was relieved that she was talking,

and I thought, "Well, that's good,"

and she wasn't unconscious

because, obviously, head injuries and things...

I think that was the first time I've ever seen Dad cry,

because Dad's incredibly strong.

I've never once really seen him that upset.

Paramedics arrive to treat Emily.

The impact she suffered could mean internal injuries,

so they carefully strap her body down to immobilise it

as she's stretchered into the ambulance.

But Emily only has one thing on her mind.

All the way in the ambulance I remember saying,

"Can I still go to the party?"

I was devastated.

When she arrived at the hospital, she was sent for X-rays, scans.

She was seen to straightaway.

A doctor came back to us and said

that she had no major injuries at all.

But he wasn't satisfied

and he then got a second opinion from another doctor.

And when that other doctor checked her again,

said that she hadn't even broken a bone.

It's beyond belief

that Emily has come through this terrible, head-on collision

with only minor ligament damage to her ankle.

It was a very close call.

If the car had been going faster,

she could have quite easily been killed that day.

Quite, quite easily.

Just amazing, erm, no matter how many times you watch it,

how shocking it is.

I'm amazed that she's still here

and has no recurring injuries,

or is in a wheelchair.

Emily realises the driver wasn't to blame.

Knowing she's been fortunate,

she's now trying to help other teenagers be more watchful

when crossing the road.

I'm supporting Road Safety Great Britain -

Look Out For Each Other.

The aim is to bring down fatalities,

even just accidents to do with roads.

I'm definitely incredibly lucky to be alive.

We all know how much dog owners love their pets,

and some, like Lorraine, will go to any lengths to protect them,

even if it means putting their own lives in danger.

Back to Trimingham, on the North Norfolk coast.

Lorraine Star and her beloved dog, Olive,

are stuck in a clay pit on a towering cliff face.

They are both starting to show signs of suffering from hypothermia

and are slowly being sucked into the icy, thick, clay mud.

They've just been discovered by retired police officer Alan Mills,

who was walking his own two dogs along the clifftop.

It was so nice just to see someone, after being alone.

But Lorraine's still very much in danger.

Alan really needs to get help fast.

He has to raise the alarm.

But being local, knows the phone signal in the area

is really unreliable.

I called my wife to get her to call the coastguard.

It was obviously essential to get somebody to her very quickly.

He said, "I've called."

And then he said... Then we started talking about the weather.

Really mundane things, but it was so nice just to see someone.

It was important that she knew that there was somebody there

who was staying there.

The temperature has now dropped to just above freezing.

There was nothing I could do to help her.

I was very concerned for her.

Thankfully, the coastguard arrived quickly.

But this is going to be a tricky job -

and it's a race against time.

These are photos Alan took at the time,

showing the coastguard setting up secure safety ropes.

The first thing they need to do is get a man down to Lorraine.

We put an immediate rescue in,

which is one technician straight down,

to see if he can put a rescue strop round her

and get her out of that danger straightaway.

The rescuer is Sam Bagley.

I saw the helmet first, and then Sam looked over.

Shouted, "Hello." Said, "I'm Sam.

"I'm going to come and get you."

So, he came right down sort of level, height-wise, with me,

and then he couldn't get across.

When he got down,

he actually saw that it was just liquid clay

and he could not get anywhere near her.

Well, I thought, "This is bad.

"If they can't reach me..."

He threw me a blanket.

The wind took it, so he couldn't quite get it over.

And he just kept talking to me.

He kept saying, "Don't worry.

"Don't worry, we'll sort this out."

But in truth, the rescuers are worried.

They realise it's going to take more than one man.

They send a second rescuer down

to try and reach Lorraine from the other side.

This time, it's Christon Iliffe,

and what he sees causes him grave concern.

I saw one of her shoes

on the top of the mud.

And gradually, over the space of the time that we were down the cliff,

I could see it getting further and further away.

So I knew that that mud was moving.

And that's not the only danger.

She was actually slowly sinking further into the clay.

The thick clay mud churning around Lorraine

means neither man can reach her.

I was worried for my crew's safety,

but also Lorraine's safety as well.

I mean, we don't want to put Lorraine in any more danger

than she already is in,

but I can't actually put my crews in danger.

The only hope now to get Lorraine and Olive out

is to call in a rescue helicopter.

They scramble a chopper.

Back down the cliff, Christon, who is the closest to Lorraine,

is growing more concerned about her wellbeing.

She was deteriorating.

The worst thing in a rescue situation,

when somebody believes they're going to be rescued,

at that point they can give up.

But the rescue is not over

until they're in the safe hands of the ambulance service.

Lorraine has to be kept awake.

If she falls unconscious,

it will make the rescue operation even more difficult.

Christon put his years of training into practice.

I constantly kept asking if she was OK.

Just to do the OK symbol with her hand when she was,

as well as saying OK.

And it kept her...

awake. It kept her alert.

Back at the top of the cliff, it's bad news.

It's going to take 45 minutes for the helicopter to arrive.

The coastguards decide to use that time

to try and reach Lorraine's dog, Olive,

to make it easier for the helicopter crew.

We actually had to get the dog, then bring the dog back up,

so all the winchman had to do was concentrate on Lorraine.

The team at the top of the cliff

lower an animal-rescue bag attached to a rope to Sam.

He throws it across to Lorraine.

And then I had to kind of pull it across the mud.

And then, when I finally got the bag,

I couldn't open it because it was covered in mud.

So, I managed to open it.

Olive looked at me as if to say, "No way am I getting in that bag."

But she had... So I had to kind of manhandle her

and I push her in.

Sam manages to drag Olive across the mud to his position.

Then, finally, nearly three hours after

Lorraine got stuck on the cliff face,

the helicopter comes into sight.

They actually hovered there for two or three minutes,

assessed the situation.

While the heli crew formulate a plan,

the coastguard struggled to retrieve the dog.

Christon remains alongside Lorraine, as Sam begins the climb

with Olive safe in the bag.

Sam did tell me it was very, very heavy,

because it was covered in clay,

and that was only a little dog.

And Sam was so stuck that he actually had to cut his boots off

when he lost his boots and his socks in that rescue,

coming back up the cliff.

I was worried for Olive that she would kind of suffocate

in all that mud in the bag.

And then, by the time I was sort of watching that, worrying about Olive,

the helicopter was there.

And I looked up and I could see the bottom of the helicopter

and the guy... The guy's boots, obviously,

as he was sitting over the side.

And he seemed to be there for ages.

And I was... It sounds a bit ungrateful,

but I just wanted him to come.

And it was hovering and hovering,

and I was thinking, "Please come, please come, I'm cold.

"I really need to be out of this now."

The plan is to lower a winchman down to pull Lorraine out of the mud,

then up to the safety of the clifftop.

It's amazing how the helicopter just stayed there.

Kept it level. Everything was very safe.

He came down, he drew level with me and went slightly to the side of me.

And he was so nice and he smiled and put his thumb up, so I was...

you know, put my thumbs up.

But Lorraine's problems are not over yet.

He sunk instantly up to his waist.

So already I know that that's just over a metre thick.

The rescuer battles on, and eventually he reaches Lorraine.

He put a loop around my knees and did that up.

Helped me pull myself up.

Put a loop over my shoulders, under my arms.

And then held me as we went up.

A mud-caked Lorraine dangles 60 metres in the air.

I wasn't frightened.

I just wanted to get out.

All I wanted was to feel solid, dry ground underneath me.

She wasn't took in the aircraft.

She was actually dangled below the aircraft

and then they lowered her down to the ground

because she was absolutely covered.

Finally, after nearly three hours

of slowly being swallowed up by the cold clay mud,

Lorraine is lowered onto the clifftop. She's safe.

They lowered me down.

And they were all waiting for me.

There were blankets and things.

And I just remember being laid on the floor and I just said,

"Happy New Year, everyone. Thank you."

And just was saying thank you to everyone.

But still this rescue isn't entirely over.

Lorraine's safe, but one of her would-be rescuers, Christon,

is in trouble.

Due to the conditions,

I'd unfortunately slipped and then become stuck myself.

I was mentally tired, physically tired,

and at that point it would have been dangerous

to put any tension on the equipment to recover myself the standard way.

The winchman navigates his way down the cliff,

grabs Christon, and hauls him back to safety.

Back at home with Olive, Lorraine realises how lucky she is.

There could have been a very different outcome.

I'm incredibly grateful and thankful to Alan.

Well, to his dogs obviously, first, that heard me.

To Alan, for finding me and for staying.

She's just said thank you in a very big way.

She was in a terrible situation.

She could have died.

And it's a day the coastguards won't ever forget either.

I would say that rescue

was getting to more or less one of the difficult ones

that I've actually been on in the 16 years.

It could have turned out very different.

For Lorraine, that one fateful day on the Norfolk coast

changed her life.

I've just got a new job

because I felt, you know, you may run out of time,

so I'm just a lot more careful,

but also a lot more able to take risks in other ways,

that aren't going to call out

the coastguard and the police and the ambulance.

A very muddy tale, that one.

Thank goodness another dog walker managed to spot Lorraine and Olive.

Join us next time, for more tales of miraculous Close Calls.