Episode 5 Real Rescues

Today on Real Rescues, a daring rescue in flood waters.

'A 999 call reports a woman has been swept away from her car and family.

'A police helicopter finds her, but the river's too treacherous.'

What actually happened, Ben...?

'Ben's head-on collision with a car leaves its mark on the vehicle...'

Blimey! '..and patient.'

Is that really painful, Ben? Yeah. GROANS

'And how NOT to get lost in translation.

'A crash on the M1 leaves police

'with not one but two drivers who don't speak English.'

Where are you from? Are you Romanian? Bulgaria. Bulgarian.

He is from... Lithuania.

Hello, and welcome to Real Rescues.

First, a daring and difficult rescue in raging flood waters.

It's just before Christmas, and southwest England is experiencing

some of the most extreme weather conditions ever.

The floodwater has swept a woman from her family and her car.

It's up to the combined forces of the fire and rescue, police, locals and the RNLI

to save all three people.

You're about to see extraordinary courage.

'It's two days before Christmas.

'Devon Fire and Rescue have been at full stretch for 24 hours.

'Torrential rain and floodwaters are reeking havoc across the county.

'It's half past midnight when a desperate 999 call comes in.

'A family are trapped in their car as floodwaters rise around them.'

'The River Tor has burst its banks.

'The water has picked up the vehicle and thrown it against some trees.

'On the line, Control can hear the mother trying to keep her young son calm.'

SIREN WAILS

'Fire Control diverts the closest rescuers, but the water is rising.

'Within minutes, there's a second 999 call from a local resident.'

'Diane Murch can see a man and his young son shouting for help.

'They've managed to climb out of the windows onto the roof of the car,

'but there's no sign of the mother.'

The water would literally have been up to about here.

It was terrifying. You could hear the rush of the water.

You could hardly hear them shouting

because of the noise the water was making.

You could hear this awful screaming. It's a noise you won't forget.

Knowing what the river's like and seeing what it was like here,

we thought she would be swept away and...drowned, died.

'Control pass on the news to the fire crews

'who have made it through the floods to the scene.'

'A police helicopter joins the desperate search to find the woman.'

'Conditions are getting worse by the minute.'

'Thames Valley traffic cops are heading to the M1.

'Two lanes are blocked southbound.

'PCs Jason Brinklow and Ian Stephens have to get it sorted and cleared ASAP.'

We're currently turning underneath the motorway.

We've seen there's people stood by the barrier...

..and in the motorway itself.

The slow lane and possibly the middle lane is still running.

'Three lanes of traffic are going nowhere.

'The overhead warning signs need updating.'

9-2, the matrix boards are showing a one and two closure.

Also, the barrier is significantly damaged, laying on the floor.

'It's clear that a car has been thrown into it at some speed.

'Luckily, there's no shortage of helpful witnesses.'

Did you see anything? Only from about 30 cars back.

I stopped to help because I'm an off-duty paramedic.

I'm leaving cos he doesn't want to speak to me. Thank you very much.

'As PC Brinklow gets nearer the car which has hit the barrier,

'the witness accounts get clearer.'

Started to drift a bit. Yeah.

As it drifted, the truck was in the second lane

and it clipped the front of the truck.

It put him sideways and came whacking straight back out the third lane into the barrier.

'Getting information out of this young driver is going to be much more difficult.'

No speaking English. OK, um... Driving licence?

Driving licence?

OK, need a licence... in which to drive.

'The problems are really beginning.

'It's not just the car driver who can't speak English.'

Are you Romanian? Bulgarian. Bulgarian? Right, OK.

'As Ian checks the lorry driver's documents,

'his colleague Jason has discovered the nationality of the other man.'

This is the driver of the lorry. He's Bulgarian.

This chap is the driver of the car.

And he is from...

Lithuania.

'It's going to take some time working out who's at fault.'

Witnesses say that the lorry was in the middle lane

and the car was in the fast lane and has moved across

into the front of the lorry.

The car then collided with the barrier.

Although it's only a very minor touch from both vehicles,

it caused significant barrier damage.

'The only way the police can communicate is via the Language Line and a Lithuanian interpreter.'

Could you ask him who owns the car and where they are at the moment?

SPEAKING IN LITHUANIAN

Could you ask him where he was going when he crashed?

SPEAKING IN LITHUANIAN

'Jason has finally got the facts he needs.

'The young man is staying with a friend who just collected a new car.

'This man is driving his other car home.'

He came in on Friday.

Intends to leave on Wednesday,

with no intention of returning to England.

He's got no insurance for the vehicle, so we have to arrest him.

'The bad news is relayed via the Language Line.

'The driver of the lorry is not at fault and can continue his journey,

'but not before the insurance issues are explained via another interpreter.

'The next stop is Milton Keynes police station.

'It seems Lithuanians have a different approach.'

It's certainly more complicated than usual.

Neither of the drivers spoke English. This chap's from Lithuania.

In Lithuania, as long as a car is insured, any person can drive it.

That's simply not the case here.

The lorry driver wanted written proof that the crash wasn't his fault from us,

which would be supplied in his own country by the police,

and we simply don't do that here.

Mind your head.

'At the police station, the man is taken inside, where he was cautioned.'

There was someone in the house that didn't belong in the house?

Jack was telling me a story about a lady waking up

and finding someone sleeping in the house.

Start at the beginning. A call came in about 8am.

This elderly lady had just woken up, came on the phone and said, "There's a strange man in my bed."

We have the call record come up from where she'd called in the past

and there had been calls where she's reported things stolen

that she'd moved herself and gets a bit confused.

But it's a rule that you can't pre-judge a call.

You always deal with what information you're getting.

We wanted to see if there was anyone to verify there was a strange person in her bed.

Fortunately, her carer had turned up for the morning visit.

She's said, "Yes, there's a man in her bed. None of us know who he is."

In her house? Asleep in her bed. He was still asleep at the time.

We had some neighbourhood officers nearby.

They managed to get there really quick.

Turns out it was this vagrant who'd passed by, seen an open window,

said, "I'd like to sleep in a bed." Didn't care that anyone else was in the bed, and went to sleep.

So, really no nasty intent from the chap concerned?

Nonetheless, it must have been terrifying. Fortunately, no intent.

I can't imagine waking up to that sort of circumstance.

Someone who's vulnerable, it must have been horrifying.

So, despite no nasty intent, I imagine you gave him a pretty stern talking to.

Fortunately, it wasn't myself, but I imagine the neighbourhood guys did on her behalf.

It just goes to show, when you go to bed, make sure that you are secure

so, intent or not, nobody can make themself an unwelcome guest when you're not expecting it.

A very frightening story. Absolutely.

'In north Devon, the police helicopter has joined the search

'to find a woman swept away by floodwaters.

'Her husband and young son are still clinging to the roof of their car.

'The helicopter crew are using their infrared night vision camera

'to search for a heat source that might be the missing woman.

'Suddenly, they spot something glowing white.

'It could be her.'

ON RADIO: We've got someone in what looks like bushes,

second fire tender back from the front,

immediately opposite on the other side of the bank, someone in bushes.

Not the first row of trees but the one afterwards.

'Incident commander Neil Blackburn gets in touch with Fire HQ.'

'The fire crews just make out a hand in the torchlight clinging to the trees.

'Over the roar of the water they try to make contact.'

'By now, the woman, Vanessa Glover,

'has been in the water for at least 20 minutes.

'It's just four degrees above freezing.

'The river is four and a half metres deep and flowing at 12 knots or 15 miles an hour.

'Visibility is zero.

'After being swept out of her car and down the river,

'Vanessa has managed to grab on to a branch.'

I didn't aim for anything. I didn't swim for anything.

I don't know how I clung to the tree but I found myself at a tree.

I was kind of hugging the tree like a koala bear.

I couldn't hear anything other than the roar of the water.

Intermittently, complete shock would overcome my body

and I'd shake involuntarily.

The water was up to my chest and I thought, if the water rises,

because I assumed that it would rise with the tide coming,

I was looking above me

to see which bough of the tree I could cling hold of.

But I realised it was covered in ivy and that it would be treacherous

and actually, I was better off where I was.

It was utterly, utterly terrifying.

'The fire crew move along a nearby flooded road in a flat-hulled boat.

'The RNLI are en route with their specialist boat.

'The rescuers will have to navigate

'across a 15mph current to get to her.'

'Options are running out. Crossing the river by boat looks impossible.

'The police helicopter is on scene, but has no winch.

'The last hope now is the Air Sea Rescue helicopter.'

At that point, my heart sank. I realised it would not be possible

for Mrs Glover to hold on for that period of time in the water.

'Further upstream, a second rescue is about to be launched

'to reach Vanessa's husband and son,

'still stranded on the roof of their submerged car.

'A local farmer has volunteered to help.

'He carries two firefighters in the bucket of his tractor.'

This here's the loader bucket. We had to raise it above the water.

The water at that point was about this height on the tractor.

The air intake is about that level there.

It was as deep as what you'd want to go into.

'Father and son, Paul and Silas,

'manage to get into the tractor bucket and are driven to dry land.

'Two of the family are safe. It's a huge boost to the rescue team.'

It was incredibly brave. It was ten knots of water, three foot deep.

They made a very calculated decision

that was the right one in conducting that rescue.

It was safe. There was no way we would have done it if it wasn't.

When people are in danger,

I think you go that little bit extra, anyhow.

'Back in the river, Vanessa's situation is more critical.

'The rescue operation has been going on for 40 minutes now

'and the water levels are rising with the tide.'

I was aware of the force of the water in the small of my back,

which both held me to the tree,

but also inched me around the tree.

If I started at 7 o'clock, I felt I was inched to 6 o'clock.

And I thought, "If I get inched to 5 o'clock,

"there's nothing to stop me going off downstream."

'The rescuers risk crossing the floodwaters

'after Vanessa's cries for help suddenly stop.'

Coming up on Real Rescues...

'Ben takes flight downstairs...'

Blimey! '..and heads straight into a car,

'leaving a mark on the car and his head.

'And a motorbiker has a lucky escape

'after being caught out in the wrong clothes.'

SIRENS WAIL

'The firefighters of Green Watch are on their way to an unusual call-out in Southampton.'

HORN HONKING

'It's a fire on a refuse lorry, and it's on the move.

'First, they have to find it.

'The worry is they're in a built-up area and they have no idea what's inside the lorry.

'It could contain all kinds of unknown hazards.'

That'll be the one on fire there.

'There's no problem spotting the lorry, parked up on the edge of a busy main road.

'There's lots of traffic, but no properties nearby.

'That's the only good news.'

Is it all domestic stuff? No. It's all trade waste.

So, pallets, bits of everything. SIRENS APPROACHING

'It's a potentially dangerous situation. Backup is on its way.

'Getting access to the fire is going to be tricky.'

No way of getting to that at all?

I can tip it, lift it up. It's inside it, isn't it? Yeah.

I can make a mess and tip it out. The only way is to dump it? Yeah.

Ah. OK.

Where are you going? Where do you dump it?

Marchwood, I go. Marchwood. That's miles away, isn't it?

'Firefighter AD Knight goes to brief watch commander Sean Foster, who's just arrived.'

The only way to get into that is to open it

and it means it all coming out.

It's got to be the waste that's on fire cos there's nothing mechanical in there, is there?

'There's no immediate risk of the lorry catching fire,

'so there could be another solution.'

Get a jet in there, cool it down, give us breathing space.

We might ask you if you'd be happy,

if we can identify some ground to tip it, we'll follow you.

Yeah. Can we have a jet out?

'The rear can only open a small amount

'and they have no idea how far in the fire is.

'But as soon as it's open, flames are visible.'

Right in there. You can just about see it as well. Just under there.

'Opening the back has exposed the flames to oxygen.

'It won't take long before it starts spreading.'

Get the water on it sooner rather than later.

Yeah, get right through there, mate. It's just under.

'Firefighter Alex Breadbury directs the water through the narrow opening.

'After a heavy dousing, the fire seems to have died down.'

Let's have a look, mate.

There were visible signs right through.

'They can't be certain it's out until the rubbish is removed.

'And that's a problem.'

It's just getting rid of the waste after.

If we dump it, where are we going to...? Yeah.

We don't know what's in there and the pollution...

'The waste needs to be emptied in a safe place but the nearest site is Marchwood - a 30-minute journey.'

I've spoken to our Control.

As long as you're happy to take it to Marchwood, we'll come with you.

I'd suggest a police escort, one chap in front, one behind.

If you're happy to drive it.

You all right with that?

Yeah. I'll be all right. Bit of excitment, isn't it?

'With the driver keeping a cool head, they decide to proceed.'

The police are going to escort us through red lights.

We're not blazing... That's probably the wrong term.

Ben will be inside the cab of the refuse lorry and we'll have communication.

I am sitting on the dustcart that's on fire.

Obviously, if the smoke starts to increase we may need to stop

and give the contents a squirt.

If that goes below 50 we're screwed!

'They set off in good humour.'

This is going to be a rubbish story.

'So far, it's all going to plan.'

I have to say firefighter Breadbury did an excellent job with the jet.

He's knocked the fire down. I'm sure the fire's not out.

Obviously, six tonnes of waste, it's probably deep-seated and it'll carry on smouldering.

'The convoy reaches its destination with no further mishap.'

Hold fire with the jet.

We'll get him to tip his load out, bring the truck forward,

check everything's out the truck then damp the rubbish down.

'The load is ejected - and there's a lot of it!

'There's a huge amount of waste packed in the lorry.

'It could easily have developed into something much more serious.'

We're going to spread it with the machine.

'A digger makes short work of sorting it out.

'There's now little sign of smoke, let alone fire.

'But they can't take any chances. All the waste needs a thorough dampening.'

This is the best course of action. There's a lot of rubbish.

It is trade waste. There's all sorts of nasties in there.

It would have made a huge mess and a lot of disruption in the city.

If we'd tried to fight the fire in the city, we'd have been hours.

The fire's out and it's taken us an hour and a half, so I'm pleased. It's a good result.

An intruder in the house is a serious matter,

but not all intruders are human, as Di will explain to us.

You had a call which started as a road traffic incident? Yeah.

We took a call from somebody driving at night along a country road.

It was a fairly busy road and there were sheep running around, so they rang the police.

They couldn't catch them themselves. So who did you send?

One of the local officers and the PCSO, who knew the area.

They went looking for the sheep and did find them,

but they kept running off.

It was quite dark. It was late at night.

The police officer called and said, "It's all right.

"The ewe has got herself behind a gate. We shut the gate. The lamb will find her."

The gate wasn't to a field? It wasn't.

They were getting back in their car

when a light came on in a building nearby and they heard a chap shouting.

They got out of the car and what happened was,

the chap had heard what's going on, opened his front door

to have a sheep run straight past him in the house into his kitchen.

Bit of banter going backwards and forward? A lot of banter!

Including when the officer got there about how close it was to the oven.

He said, "It's not, but if I can't catch it it will be!" In the oven!

How did they get the sheep out? They went for a dog lead because it wasn't coming willingly.

They did eventually get the sheep back out

and the chap was quite happy in the end.

The sheep was with a lamb and they got separated. Do we have a happy ending?

Yeah, they got it into a field

and they could hear the lamb afterwards bleating away,

so we got a happy ending.

It's nice to have a happy ending.

It's made me think about mint sauce, but that's just me. Thank you.

'Vanessa Glover has been swept away from her car by raging floodwaters.

'She's been hanging on to a tree for at least 40 minutes.

'In these temperatures,

'the rescue team know most people lose consciousness after an hour.

'But Vanessa is on the other side of the swollen river.

'The rescuers can see her, but they can't get to her.'

'And now, her cries for help have stopped.'

'Now the floodwater specialists from the RNLI have arrived.

'In the pitch black, they try to find a safe way across the river.'

You could hear Mrs Glover screaming.

On the way up the road, she fell silent.

The aura within the team changed, the priorities changed.

"We need to get in there and get the job done."

'The river is at a record height and getting higher by the minute.

'With the rescue helicopter half an hour away,

'this is the only chance to save Vanessa.'

It was pitch black - you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

We were in the main flow. I was stemming the flow of the water,

gradually letting the force of the water bring the boat back.

'Guided by a searchlight from the police helicopter,

'the RNLI rescue boat edges towards Vanessa.'

There were high power lines only two to three metres over our head.

We didn't realise that the far side of the river there was a scrap yard

with untold debris field through there.

And, of course, the debris that was flowing downstream, trees, branches.

It wasn't until we were actually parallel with Vanessa,

who was three-quarters of the way up the tree, clinging to shrubbery,

that we realised we needed to be really quick with this.

'They reached the tree Vanessa had been clinging to for over an hour.'

The boat appeared to my left

and these two hands came out and hauled me in,

and then another two to assist.

And there was such determination in that grasp of me

that I will never forget it.

'Chris steers the boat back through the darkness

'to the relative safety of a nearby meadow.'

It was such a relief from everybody.

The mood completely lifted.

I have to say, the fire crews, all the agencies, were buzzing.

'Vanessa is safe, but she has no idea of the fate of her family.

'It's over an hour since she was forced to tell her husband Paul to let her go,

'as she tried but failed to climb onto the roof of their car.'

Paul had taken hold of my hood

and the hood was filling up like a bucket

and my coat was pulling across my throat.

But I could see, too, that him holding me

put himself at a precarious angle.

I was worried that I might pull him in.

Silas was crying and needed reassurance.

So I told Paul that he needed to let go of my hood and to let me go.

And I saw his empty outstretched hand

and I took off like a rocket and shot the rapids.

'After her rescue, Vanessa is taken to the local hospital.'

That was the moment that Paul and Silas and I were reunited.

The ambulance doors opened...

VOICE BREAKING ..and there they were

to greet me, not knowing what they'd find.

When I came home, I knew the joy...

..of being alive.

Because it struck me then

how very different Christmas might have been for Silas and Paul.

'Vanessa and family are reunited with her rescuers.'

They were so brave, courageous, capable.

SIREN BLARES

'On duty in Portsmouth, ambulance crew Jade Foley and Graham Harfield.

'They're heading to a railway station.

'It's sounding like a routine callout.'

We're on our way to a 17-year-old boy

who's fallen and hit his head on a car.

We're not expecting it to be high speed.

'As they head down the road by the station, a group of women wave them down.

'Technician Graham is going to take the lead.'

What's actually happened, Ben? I don't know how I tripped.

I tripped and hit the car right there.

Blimey!

'It's a bizarre accident. Ben has tripped on these stairs.

'His cousin Bob, not quite believing what's happened.'

He's hit the top step, it must have been four or five steps, and caught the front of his foot.

Then he's gone head first down the steps, cleared the pavement,

missed the road

and the first contact was with the car.

'Which is why there's such a big dent into the vehicle.'

You feeling a bit dizzy? I feel sleepy. Sleepy, OK.

Were you knocked out at all? No, he wasn't. He wasn't.

'When I realised he'd started going a bit woozy,'

and you could see all the bruising on the top and a bit of grazing,

that was when I got concerned.

"Right. You've really got hurt here."

GROANS Is that very painful, Ben? Yeah.

'Ben has obviously suffered a substantial knock.'

All right? I just want to go to sleep.

You want to go to sleep?

Cos you've hit your head and got serious bumps to your head,

we're going to put you in a collar. OK. Put you on a board.

I just want to cry right now. Ah.

It's a laugh, though, isn't it? OK. All right.

'Jade gets the collar ready.'

This might be a bit uncomfortable. Just keep everything nice and still.

OK? That hurts where you've got your hand!

Hurts where I've got my hand? Which one? That one. This one? Yeah.

Where does that hurt? All over that spot there.

OK. Try and keep your head nice and still for me.

Have you seen the dent you made? No.

Can you see it? Yeah. It's quite big, isn't it? It is a bit.

I don't know how I tripped over, that's the most curious thing. Hm.

'Ben has clearly hit the car at some speed,

'his head taking the full impact.

'It's an unusual case for the crew.'

Hello, Ben. My name's Jade...

'The car drivers did not have a clue what had happened.'

All they'd heard was a bang but they weren't parked on the road.

They were parked in an off-road bay.

Thought maybe someone had hit them, possibly, from behind.

They said the bang was quite loud and down on the left-hand side front of the car,

somewhere where nothing should be able to hit the car.

'They were quite surprised when they saw a boy sitting next to the car.'

'Graham wants to keep Ben talking.

'It's the best way to monitor his head injuries.

'He's looking for memory loss or slurred speech.'

You on your way home? Yeah. I'd just finished college.

Yeah. I'd just finished for the year. What are you studying?

I'm studying engineering. Oh, all right?

Marine engineering. Marine engineering? Yeah.

You all right there? Yeah. Do you know what day it is?

Today...

Oh, God! I forgot! CHUCKLES

'Ben may be concussed.

'He could also have suffered more serious damage to his neck and head.

'Paramedic Jade prepares the scoop stretcher.'

I'm going to come behind your back. We want you to slowly lie down.

'Two nurses who work at the nearby hospital have stopped to help.

'All four work together to get Ben onto the stretcher.'

Both legs together, please, Ben. One, two, three...

Push that in for us. That's it.

Ready, steady, lift.

'Ben's getting a lot of attention but he's not happy.'

Why today? Oh, why any day, Ben? Why any day?

All right. Best of luck, Ben.

There'll be a few bumps. Make it as smooth as possible.

'In the quiet of the ambulance, Graham can continue his observations.'

Pain in your head? Yeah.

Pain in your neck? Yeah.

And pain in your...? Leg. Which one again? This one.

Which one's that? The l-left one. Good.

What day is it today, Ben?

To be honest, I've forgot. You forgot? Yeah.

What year is it? 2013.

Who's the Prime Minister? David Cameron.

'Ben's long-term memory seems good,

'but there is some short-term memory loss.'

Obviously, a trip up the hospital for you. Yeah.

Still feeling sleepy? Yeah. OK. Try and keep awake. OK.

'They get him to the nearby hospital for further checks.

'His dad, Steve, has joined cousin Bob.

'Ben's being checked over by emergency department consultant and army medic

'Colonel Catherine Hartington.'

Done a bit of Superman flying and landing.

But he's hit the wing of a car right by the wheel arch.

Sizeable dent in that as well.

Just going to look all the way down your back.

It may be a bit uncomfortable when I press, but tell me does it hurt?

Yeah, that bit did. That bit did. OK. Down here? No.

Here? No. Here? No. No.

All the way down here? Yeah. Lovely.

We need to get some X-rays. We'll get those done as quickly as possible.

All right? I'm being very cautious. OK. I don't want to miss anything.

'Later, the results of Ben's overnight stay in hospital.'

'Thames Valley officers Matt Waters and Dan Smith

'are heading to a collision between two vehicles - one a motorcycle.'

Reports are that the motorcyclist has injured one of his legs.

He's unable to move it, so we're en route now.

'They arrive to find motorcyclist Jovan conscious and lucid.

'It's clear he's in pain, but he manages to describe what happened.'

I hit the brake.

The front wheel locked up. Skidmarks started from underneath your car...

'Jovan avoided hitting the car but, as he braked, the bike went down,

'leaving him sliding along the road, and he's only wearing jeans.'

Are you the driver? Can we have a chat? What happened, then?

JOVAN CRIES OUT

'The bike came down hard on Jovan's ankle. It could be broken.'

Broken leg or not? I don't think so...

'Paramedic Tom Timmins give Jovan Entonox to ease the pain.'

Take deep breaths on that, mate. You might go a little light-headed.

'After getting the driver's account of the incident, Matt gathers witness statements.'

So what did you see? I was right behind her.

I saw him cos my husband rides a motorbike. I saw him coming down...

Did you witness it? That car started to turn in.

He put his brakes on, just slid off.

Where's the bus driver? See if the bus driver's seen anything.

'Before Jovan is moved, his ankle needs to be protected.

'The paramedics encase it in a vacuum splint.'

'Jovan's been lucky.'

'X-rays at hospital will reveal if his ankle is broken.

'The grazes on his legs are relatively minor,

'considering he wasn't wearing leathers.'

Take a big breath for me.

Lovely. Well done.

Right, what we'll do is, we'll sit you up

and give you a bit of a hand up onto the stretcher.

'They need to get Jovan into the ambulance for more effective pain relief.

'Then they can transport him to hospital to check out his shoulder and ankle injuries.'

Good luck, darling.

I've given your brother my number.

'He's got pain in his right ankle,'

a few grazes up the right side, but otherwise he's OK.

'It turns out that one of the bystanders is Jovan's brother Chris.

'He's also a keen biker.'

So, we'll recover it or you can sort out your own recovery.

I'll let you think about it.

'Dan recruits Chris to help him move the bike from the road.

'Somehow, it has also escaped serious damage.'

It doesn't look too bad. The foot pedal is broken off.

A bit of damage at the back, but I think it will live to fight another day.

It's quite a new one.

This is obviously a quick sketch to get the vehicles where they were

because we had to get the road reopened.

I'm going to do a more detailed sketch.

'With the scene photographed and the street view sketched,

'all that remains is to measure the skidmarks,

'in order to check that speed was not a factor in this accident.'

Right, I'd say that was...

21 foot exactly!

'Once the bike's recovered, Matt and Dan head for the hospital

'to get a final statement from Jovan.'

'Ben the college student who smashed his head against the car

'suffered no lasting injuries,

'but spent a worrying few hours in A&E.'

When I got to hospital they put me on a spinal board

cos they thought my neck was broken, I hit the car that hard.

I sort of went into a panic.

Then when it came off, it felt like a relief I haven't done anything serious.

'But exactly how Ben managed to headbutt a wheel arch

'is still a bit of a mystery to his cousin, Bob.'

He thought he was Superman for a minute!

No other way to put it! He literally took off.

They're taking the mick because I watched a Superman film the day before.

They said to me, "Trying it out, are you? You're not the man of steel!"

'The motorcyclist who came off his bike to avoid a car

'has made a full recovery.

'It turns out Jovan did not fracture his ankle.

'He was not to blame for the accident.

'The driver of the car was invited by police

'to attend a driver improvement course.

'A few months on from her dramatic rescue,

'Vanessa Glover met with the RNLI floodwater rescue team,

'who risked their own lives to pull her out of the raging waters

'two days before Christmas.'

To give a family Christmas

when it could quite easily not have happened is amazing, really.

It'll live with us as well as the Glovers for a very long time.

'The three crews were each awarded the RNLI bronze medal for gallantry

'for their actions on that night.'

VANESSA: I think what distinguishes my rescue is the calibre

of the RNLI team who came to my rescue.

They were so brave, courageous, capable.

'So thank you to everyone for their part in my rescue.'

Weirdly, Vanessa's rescue reminds me of that great film It's A Wonderful Life,

where, just before Christmas, you have everything that you care about taken away and then given back.

How much more you must value those things.

Of course, we value our emergency services for showing their courage

in carrying out that rescue - something they do every day.

That's it for today's Real Rescues. See you next time.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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