Episode 11 Real Rescues

Today, a woman falls head-first onto concrete and literally takes leave of her senses.

-Can you?

-Say again?

-Can you go back easy, please, darling, please?

Her injury is so severe, the only way to move her is to put her into a coma there and then.

And the motorcyclist who caught his own crash on camera.

He was playing daredevil when he smashed into a car at 60mph

and remarkably survived.

Hello and welcome to Real Rescues, the programme with special access to the emergency services.

We're at Thames Valley Police control centre near Oxford.

The staff here deal with people going through life-changing and life-threatening emergencies.

Later on, Matt here will tell us how one not-so-bright thief left a trail

-that led police right to his front door.

-First, a real insight into just how much damage

a bang to the head can do. Critical care doctor Paul Rees is here to talk about a recent call out.

-It was really serious, wasn't it?

-Yes, a very serious head injury.

A woman had fallen from a ladder, banging her head on a concrete floor and this is what happened

when Paul got to her house.

Hello there.

Hiya. Who's this, then?

Just outside here? Were you knocked out?

Can you go back easy, please, darling? Can you?

-Say again.

-Can you go easy, darling, please? Can you go right, please?

-Please, can you get out of the way, please?

-And she fell out here?

About how long ago?

-What was she like straight away?

-Will you go right away, please?

-A bit dazed.

-Yeah. She wasn't knocked out?

-No.

-And since then she's become a bit more agitated?

-Keeps wanting to get up.

-OK.

How are you feeling there? Can I have a look at your head?

Oh, steady. Could you get out of the way, please, darling? Please, please, please. Out the way.

-I need to get her to hospital for a little scan.

-Please.

-Is that very sore?

-Please, please.

-Can we just take your jacket off?

-Please, please.

And then... Brian? We need to get some IV access

-and give her something to feel relaxed.

-Please go somewhere else.

Please! Please, leave us alone! Please, leave us alone!

All just caused by a bang on the head. Don't be too distressed. We'll make her feel less agitated.

-Please, can you leave it?!

-This is not uncommon. We'll sort it.

Please, leave it, please. Please!

-Well done.

-Please, can you do it?

I think what we're planning to do... The lounge is quite warm, isn't it? We'll take her in there, I think.

Please, leave it, please. Please!

It's actually quite distressing watching that. I don't know Kim, but she's clearly distressed.

When did you realise this was serious?

The job is to work out if it's important when you walk in the door.

-Why would she be talking like that?

-Her brain's starting to malfunction.

Some swelling or bleeding is causing pressure and making her behave abnormally.

-And you realised you would have to act soon?

-Yes, it was very clear

we needed to give an anaesthetic and to take her off for a CT scan

-and possibly an operation.

-OK, so Nigel, her husband, hi.

You were very calm when that was going on. How were you managing to stay so calm?

Automatic pilot, I think. You switch off and do what you have to do.

And it's just...

-I don't know, really.

-I know you're on automatic pilot then,

-but now is it quite shocking to see the way she was talking and acting?

-Yes, totally out of character.

She's normally confident, bubbly. This wasn't Kim.

-She'd been on a ladder, hadn't she?

-Putting glass in the conservatory roof. The ladders collapsed

-and she fell back on the back of her head.

-How soon did you realise that something had gone wrong?

-Was she talking normally?

-She was when we got her up to start with.

Then after probably five minutes she started talking gobbledygook.

-And you realised then.

-Something was wrong.

-We know you then had to give her a general anaesthetic.

Why would you do that? How would it help?

Various reasons. It was very difficult to manage her as she was, even to get her into the ambulance.

Also we want to take control of her brain's circulation, the oxygen and carbon dioxide,

to try to reduce the swelling.

And the fact that she doesn't want to do what you're doing, that's making things worse?

It's very hard to do the treatments we want to do to get her safe and to the hospital.

I know you set up a general anaesthetic in the front room.

The reason we're doing all this here is to protect her brain for the transport. It's a long journey.

That's fine. You're doing very well.

We'll give her some drugs, drift her off to sleep and then ventilate her

-and take it from there, all right?

-Good girl.

Let's get all the monitoring attached.

Brian, if you're happy, let's give her all of one of those.

-That should be fine.

-Here we go.

-Good. And all of that.

Just waiting for her to stop breathing. Little bits of muscle movement there.

Brian, I'm going to need you with a tube.

-Everybody stay in position. You got that?

-Got that.

Everybody stay put. 22, 24. That's fine. Out, please.

Everybody stay put. Just take the mask off, please.

That's lovely. Sorry - haven't got enough string here.

OK, just hold that for me.

Chest going up and down, tubes fogging nicely, stats are stable.

Put a collar on her and get her head immobilised. Let's plan to be out in two minutes.

It's the safest way of doing this, rather than struggling and fighting.

If there is an injury to the head or to the brain, that makes it worse.

-This is so much easier for her.

-Southampton General?

-Yeah.

She'll be all right.

-Well, Paul said she'd be all right. She IS all right!

-Thank goodness.

Lovely to see you, Kim. How are you doing now, first of all?

-Not bad. Feeling much better.

-This was nine weeks ago.

-Yes.

Looking through that tape, you were talking in an extraordinary way. Do you remember it at all?

No, I remember being up the ladder and holding the glass window

-but after that I don't remember the accident at all.

-When do you remember?

-Waking in hospital.

-And I didn't know why I was there.

-It all became clear a little bit later?

-Yes.

-How is it affecting you now?

-Um, I do find that I get a little tired in the day.

And a little bit light-headed at times.

My walking is much better because to start with it was very difficult to walk.

-Did you have to learn to walk again?

-Yes, somehow the injury affects muscle memory

-and so you just have to build your confidence to walk again.

-OK.

-And you'd obviously injured your head. What had you done?

-Em, I believe I had...

-a subdural haemorrhage.

-Right.

-And contusions.

Those are the technical terms!

-And an open head wound.

-Gosh.

-That's all serious stuff, isn't it?

-It is potentially serious.

Some bleeding in the brain and some bruising. It could have needed an operation. Hence the hospital,

-where they have the facility to do that.

-Tell us about that general anaesthetic. You put her in a coma?

We're switching off the brain's demand for oxygen. It's struggling, so we turn that off.

We control her blood pressure and oxygen level.

-Normally this would be done in a hospital. You had not so many people, so Nigel helped out.

-Yes!

-What were you doing?

-Holding the drip, as far as I can remember.

-And that is helping him at the time?

-He was very helpful,

very calm and helped us by acting as a drip stand.

-Pretty useful on the day.

-Is he a bit of a hero for you?

-Yes!

More so now. Tell us, you're also having problems with your sense of smell and taste.

-How is that affecting you?

-Well, it's something that initially I wasn't aware of

because of the injury, and when I came home from hospital I realised.

And it's...it's something I'm getting used to.

I guess you take it for granted being able to smell. What sort of things are you missing?

Em...just smelling clean laundry, my girls, my husband!

It's just...just a bizarre sense not to have.

We were talking a little bit earlier and you said you knew it wasn't normal because you weren't swearing!

-And I'm glad I wasn't!

-Fair enough. Thank you very much. I'm so glad you're better.

Now a story that goes some way to prove that common sense may be the vital missing ingredient

for some elements of the criminal fraternity. Detectives are very good at what they do.

Sometimes they're tested to the limit. We can talk to Matt here about this subject.

-You had a call that really tested your detectives.

-Yeah.

We had a call from a member of the public saying they were being burgled.

We sent officers out to the scene,

and they found his house had been broken into and a pushbike stolen.

So it's now down to your detectives to detect where that bike had gone.

It was quite easy for officers. It had been snowing outside.

So they walked out the back door, followed the footprints and tyre prints down an alleyway

into somebody's back garden. They knocked on the door and found the criminal with his shiny bike!

Haven't you got to love that? That's my favourite story so far.

The idea that people could be daft enough to not notice they're leaving tracks in the snow!

Thank you very much, Matt. Nice to know the police are always one step ahead of the criminals.

Thank you.

Now forced off a roundabout by a road hog, a stunned driver is wrapped around a lamppost,

but the lamppost could be the real problem. It's leaning at a dangerous angle over a busy road.

It's the evening rush hour and traffic cop John Davies is heading out to a car crash.

We're going to a report of a vehicle that's collided with a lamppost.

We don't know what the extent of the injuries are, but it's been reported as an injury crash.

There's no problem finding this accident.

Only one car's involved and the driver's out.

-Hello.

-This is Adam. It's Adam's vehicle.

-Hello, sir.

Can I just get you all on the grass verge? Yeah?

The driver is OK, the car is seriously damaged

and the lamppost is critical. It's leaning at an alarming angle

directly over the busy road.

The lamppost is numbered 67 on the roundabout.

It appears to be critically unsafe. Can you get someone out to come and have a look at it for us?

The ambulance crew check Adam out for injuries while John tries to piece together what happened.

I was sat at the junction and there was a van on the inside lane.

Adam was on the outside, coming into two lanes here.

When we got to just before the junction, the van's moved across, coming into the second lane here.

It forced Adam round this way.

So it sounds like Adam was pushed off the road and onto the grass verge. The lamppost stood no chance.

The van is long gone and no one took its number.

-So we've got no idea of the driver?

-The annoying thing was, I was looking at the van before,

thinking I could pitch them for my job, but I can't remember the name.

-The main thing is... Is that your private car?

-It is.

-The main thing is you're OK.

-Exactly, yeah.

-I'm still... These things are made strongly, but I'm worried.

Nobody stay on that side. Let me get some details from you gents.

John has already called out a breakdown service, but Adam's car can't be moved until they're sure

that the lamppost won't fall over. And while he's clearing up this...

Which roundabout?

Thank you. The next roundabout east of me.

A member of the public says there's a kiddie off his bike. Can a unit go and have a look?

Since Adam has escaped without any serious injuries, the ambulance can go to the new accident.

Hello. We don't actually need an ambulance,

but there's a nipper off his moped at the next roundabout.

That done, John can concentrate on the lamppost.

It's not looking too healthy.

They are made to withstand these sort of collisions, despite the nasty looking angle.

-We'll get someone to assess that before we move it.

-Southern Electric have arrived to make it safe.

They disconnect it from the main power supply. Hidden beneath the ground are two metres of post.

There's very little possibility of it falling over, but they don't want to take any chances.

The idea will be... If I can get you to do a temporary closure just there,

just to enable that to be shifted back. Then I'll be doing a closure on the A27.

So if it does go over, no one is hurt. That's basically the plan.

John is happy the lamppost is safe and going to stay put, so the traffic can get going again.

When the cutter arrives, the post will be cut off at ground level and eventually replaced.

Still to come, the speed of a sneeze. Over 100mph of uncontrollable power.

-Enough to dislocate this man's shoulder.

-Aaah!

A simple sneeze has done the job.

Nnngh!

And foxed: a cub lost in a storm drain for three days is flushed into the open.

Fabulous. Well done, guys.

Now just below the ops room is a working police station.

I thought we'd take a look round. We'll check with the Duty Sergeant.

-Busy, Gavin?

-Yes, indeed we are.

We've got a VIP visit today so we've got a lot of resources.

-All right to have a look round?

-Feel free.

-Smashing. Thank you.

So we'll go to the parade room. There's not much parading.

In the old uniforms, they'd line up and have their uniforms checked.

These days, they're so perfectly turned out, they don't need to.

Tony, you've got the full kit on. Do you have to wear this all day?

That's right. I'm available to respond to any emergencies.

Who's working on the computers today? A cross-section of people?

Yeah, from different departments. Two neighbourhood policing officers, two response officers

-and a special constable.

-Brilliant. They also get a cup of tea while they're working on the computers.

I'm going to go up this way. Up here is community policing, just round the corner here.

There's a few people in. Jolly good. Hi!

So what happens in this room?

Can you give us a quick description of what goes on?

This is the Community Safety department - anti-social behaviour, crime reduction, neighbourhood watch

and our schools officers. We communicate with communities, let them know what's going on

with crime in their area and how to get hold of us.

-We send messages by email or phone.

-That's modern policing right here, the interface with the public.

Thank you very much. I'm not sure how many people are in the traffic base.

-There's a big operation for VIPs. Morning.

-Morning.

-We won't disturb them. They're very busy.

That's the traffic base.

Hope you enjoyed having a look round. These people make sure you're safe.

Now when things go wrong, we see how people are pushed to the extremes of human emotion.

The police are trained to deal with these situations, but what about those involved?

Here Maria and Angela support each other in a unique way that only good friends really can.

There's been an accident on the main road to Oxford.

It's this side of the toll bridge.

Traffic cops Andy Wickins and Matthew Clark are heading out there.

I'll update you shortly.

-Hello. What's happened?

-I was an observer.

-Right...

A woman in her 70s was knocked over by a car as she stepped out into the road.

The driver took her to a nearby bungalow where she's being treated by an ambulance crew.

As Andy and Matthew talk to witnesses, a worried friend arrives to greet the injured woman.

Maria was clipped by a wing mirror and hit the ground hard.

She's able to walk, but has pains in her stomach and face.

Angela rushed over when she heard her best friend was in trouble.

We were coming to meet her anyway.

And she phoned to say she'd been run over. I don't know what's happened. She was going to take the bus.

She was going to see her husband. He is in the nursing home.

While the police continue to gather information, Angela goes to comfort her friend in the ambulance.

The two originally come from Spain and have known each other for over 50 years. Maria knows she was lucky.

Her husband suffers from Parkinson's disease and she's upset he'll miss her visit.

Angela will call into the home to let them know.

Outside, Andy's continuing to gather his evidence together.

We've got some quite nice marks.

Should anything go wrong further down the line, should the injured party take a turn for the worse,

we can come back using the photos so we have a record for any investigation.

Maria and Angela came to work in England as nurses when in their late teens.

-Long time.

-Were you single ladies?

The two best friends have helped each other through thick and thin.

Angela will stay at Maria's side while she gets treated at hospital.

Hopefully, by tomorrow Maria will be back in the routine of visiting her husband.

Aww. Poor Maria. She actually broke three ribs, but is recovering very well now.

Here's something a little different. Take a look at this.

I'm looking towards that junction. It's concealed, there on the offside.

It's an app for mobile phones used by bikers. It gives advice on dangerous roads in the UK,

previewing the route with tips from a police motorcyclist. It was created to save bikers' lives.

Statistically, the most vulnerable drivers on the road. Like Mark here.

He learnt his motorcycle safety lesson the hard way.

-You enjoyed your bikes.

-I did.

-Still enjoy them.

-Oh, yes.

-It's a bit of a miracle you can ride.

-Yeah.

-You liked a burn up.

-Definitely.

That didn't make you unusual. But unusually, you filmed it.

I wasn't speed testing. I was seeing how far I was leaning into corners like on the screen there.

-You weren't speed testing?

-No.

-You really weren't?

-I know my bike does 140mph.

-OK.

Let's see what happened the day Mark strapped his camera to his bike and, not speed testing,

went on an illegal burn up.

Mark is about to suffer an horrific crash.

His intention is to have some fun by filming himself taking corners at a low angle,

but he's about to capture a lot more than he bargained for.

He starts as he means to go on, racing to nearly 60 miles an hour in a 30 mile an hour zone.

Temporarily held up by traffic, Mark rocks from side to side in frustration.

But now he's back on the move. Speed limit still 30, Mark's speed 70 miles an hour.

When he passes a national speed limit sign, he really opens up,

accelerating to 110mph.

But Mark is about to come unstuck.

Just ahead lies a blind bend and he's approaching it at a ridiculous speed.

It's all happened so fast, but in slow motion the full terror of the crash can be seen.

Mark flashes past a Danger warning sign, but at 85mph, he doesn't see it.

The word Slow is written on the road, but he ignores it.

Too late, he spots the 4x4 pulling out of a driveway and slams on the brakes.

But a fraction before impact, he's still going 60.

The shocked driver of the car is just realising what's about to happen.

It starts with smiles, yet barely six minutes later, Mark's life has changed forever.

That's the most extraordinary thing. I'm not quite sure how you're still here.

-60mph at impact?

-Yeah.

-That's ridiculous.

-I know.

OK, so... We cut at the point where the camera and you hit the car.

-It was pretty much square-on.

-Yeah.

-So what happens to you then?

-I just remember I hit the mat. I'm not even far from the car.

I didn't fall far. I came to a straight stop.

-I just lay on the bike on the kerb.

-And what are you thinking?

I'd come around to a woman's face and I'm just asking about my bike. They said don't worry.

I was asking about my arm, which was over here, snapped at the humerus.

-I kept slipping in and out of consciousness and...

-Most of the damage across the front?

All down my right-hand side. I've had most of my large bowel removed from the top edge.

And the small bowel, and a hole in my liver. Another 5mph on impact would have turned me to mush.

-Spinal injury?

-I've got... I had a cracked vertebrae, which wasn't found in the x-ray.

It's now causing problems in my back and it gives me dead legs. I've got to sleep curled up in a ball

to give my spine pressure so it releases.

-You have suffered as a result, but looking back on it now, not the brightest thing you did.

-No.

What about the bloke in the car? You see his terrified face.

For that person, on a normal day, what a horrific thing to happen?

What goes through my head is... We were talking this morning...

Gary Chance and John Siddle will talk about the crash and about safety.

-Go on.

-If I had another six inches that way, I'd have hit him and then what would it have been?

Both of us dead or just him dying. That's the worst-case scenario.

I suppose the trouble is, guys, that most bikers want to go out and enjoy their bikes.

I'm a biker. Most of us have had a bit of a tear-up to see what a bike can do.

-While it's going in a straight line, it's fine, but when you turned up at the accident...

-Yeah.

-How come he's not dead?

-Well, this was I was called out.

They thought he was going to die, so I was called to the scene

to reconstruct what had happened. Then we got the video evidence. I did a plan drawing,

measurements, then I go back to the office and wait for the outcome.

-People go out and take statements, interviewed Mark.

-Give us an idea.

This is one of the fastest impact accidents. If he'd been travelling across a football pitch,

-how long would it have taken?

-At 100mph, you'd cover a football pitch in just over two seconds.

The length of a football pitch.

So at 60mph, there's no time, you can see from the video, to react or change direction.

-And he's on the kerb.

-That's right.

-So you expected this to be a death.

We did. That's why I was called out. It was miraculous that Mark survived.

How will you change people and stop this going on?

To be honest, riding bikes is about having fun and people will do this.

These are 150mph rocket machines.

Yes, absolutely. The idea that we think is best is to engage with the bikers

and see what they want and help them, educate them in training with how to improve their skills.

We can never get away from somebody like Mark

doing what he did. There always will be one individual who does that.

But for those bikers who want to test their skills, we'll take them to a safe environment,

with proper training, and not let the bike outstrip their ability. That's what's basically happening.

The bikes outstrip the ability. And at a blind corner you can't stop.

I want to talk about safety. Equipment is key.

Wearing the right kit can make a massive difference,

but I still can't understand how you hit like that and you're not dead.

-Let's talk about boots. Are these the ones you were wearing?

-Yes.

-Solid, they've got ankle braces...

-You can see the scuffs. It saved me.

-Simple as that.

-So you were lucky to get away with that with those. And we talk about leathers.

People think they're a bit flash and about what you look like.

In fact, this will stop you stripping all your skin off your body.

They've worked for him, 100%. They've done their job.

Whatever the extreme cost of leathers is, they've done the job.

Mark's testament to that.

-Interestingly, I was told that you had an inch-deep gouge...

-Yeah.

-..on your knee slide.

In case you don't know, when you go round a corner, you put your knee on the floor.

-There was an inch-deep gouge.

-That's the edge. It went along there.

It was that deep into the nee slide.

-Are you a better rider now?

-I genuinely believe, hand on heart, that I've learned a lot.

I've studied videotapes and all that before I started riding.

This is one of the things we teach at the riding school - how to use your brakes properly.

If you use your brakes properly, a bike's tyres are better than car tyres.

If they've got adhesion, but you hit diesel, gravel...

All we're saying is we'll never change people's views completely,

but think about it, be sensible. You could have killed somebody and yourself. Thanks for coming in.

-But amazing that you're here to talk to us.

-Thank you.

Now there is no stopping a sneeze.

Its power is so strong, in some cases it can match the speed of a tornado at over 100mph.

In this next film, a sneeze is all it takes to put Andrew out of action for a whole week.

Ambulance crew Sarah McDonald and Niki Robins are on a blue light call to the bookies.

One of the punters is in serious pain, but this time it's nothing to do with what happened at the races.

They find Andrew in agony. He's dislocated his shoulder

and not for the first time.

-It's been out six or seven times.

-OK, when was it last out?

A year ago, a year and a half maybe.

They can't do anything here to put the shoulder back in place, but they can ease the pain.

As Niki prepares the pain-relieving gas, Sarah supports his arm.

-Aah!

-Sorry.

-That's fine. How many times?

-Eight.

Eight?!

OK, mouth closed. That's the one. Well done.

Right, slowly stand up.

Don't step back.

It may have happened to him many times before, but it doesn't make the pain easier to deal with.

Andrew needs every gasp he can get of the Entonox.

Don't take a quick few puffs. Take five good puffs.

OK?

Lovely. Up you come.

-That's it. Keep going.

-Well done.

Right, hold that in your teeth.

Once inside, they put on a sling. This will take the weight of the arm off the shoulder socket.

OK, calm down.

I can see how painful it is, but just try to relax.

Try not to think about it. Think about what you were doing.

Nice and relaxed, nice and calm.

Well done.

OK?

Andrew had just popped into the bookies to have a flutter.

-I'm a big fan of Tony McCoy and he's got a few rides.

-Put any on?

-No.

You didn't get to? Oh! That would be rubbish.

All perfectly normal until something tickled his nose and he sneezed, popping his shoulder out.

Andrew's suffering a reoccurring injury. He's done it eight times.

The more often he does it, the weaker it becomes.

-I've been in the gym all morning.

-Been in the gym.

-So your muscles are floppier than normal.

-And... a simple sneeze has done the job.

Andrew thought he could cope without taking morphine, but the pain is unbearable.

Aaah!

Sarah prepares to give him an injection.

This is anti-sickness stuff, OK? It goes in a little slowly.

- Aaaah! - Keep taking big, long sips.

Then I'll give you the good stuff, but you've already had the codeine.

Once the morphine has taken effect, Sarah gets into the driver's seat while Niki keeps Andrew comfortable.

A bit better?

Aah!

Did we...did we speak too soon?

All that's left to do is let Andrew's partner Rebecca know that he's off to hospital.

Don't worry. Andrew is fine. He's dislocated his shoulder again.

Unfortunately, he sneezed and it popped out.

So, bless him, yeah. He's on his way to Basingstoke Hospital, known as North Hampshire.

Lovely. All right. Thank you, bye.

By the time they get to hospital, Andrew feels much more comfortable.

Now you support your arm in the best way you can. Watch that chair.

Just like the eight previous occasions, Andrew's shoulder will be manoeuvred back into place

and almost all the pain will be gone until it happens again.

Paul is still with us. I want to talk about sneezes. It sounds ridiculous to do that.

You use a lot of energy when you sneeze. It's the body's way of expelling irritating particles.

-You use a lot of energy.

-Nice(!) There's nothing we can do?

It's very hard to suppress it. It's pretty much going to happen.

Is there anything else we can do? I'm a terrible sneezer.

When you drive, it can be dangerous.

And it causes a lot of distraction. If you're on a motorway at speed,

it's not uncommon to have accidents caused by the distraction.

You can't help close your eyes.

It's very hard to, certainly. And the distraction of having your eyes shut could easily lead you

-to a little bump.

-What sort of things can cause it?

Anything irritant. Perfumes, pollen, they're the most common things.

-They get into your nose, irritate it, then you sneeze to eject it.

-OK.

If you're driving and feel a sneeze coming on, there's nothing to do?

-Nothing.

-Can you try to suppress it?

-Some people can a little bit, think about something else...

-Think about something else?

-But if it's going to happen, it'll happen, sadly.

Best not of it happens on the road. Heard of a dislocated shoulder?

-Not really. The muscles had been weakened...

-He'd had injuries.

-..so any minor force

-could have caused that to pop out. That happened here.

-Thanks very much.

The team here support police in many ways. They can run number plate checks, find addresses,

and give officers the information they need, but for Sarah here

it was map-reading skills that helped some women stuck in the mud.

-So you got a call, presumably?

-Yes.

-From the woman stuck in the mud?

No, the woman's grandmother.

She was phoning. She'd called them directly, as opposed to the police.

-Right.

-So I called them back.

-The woman stuck in the mud rang their grandmother?

-Yeah.

-And the grandmother rang? OK.

-Yeah.

-Do you know where they are?

-Not a clue. In Reading somewhere, in a field, but that's all we knew.

-Sinking in mud?

-Sinking in mud.

-So time was of the essence.

-Yes.

-How did you go about finding them?

-A lot of questions. Where they were travelling from, travelling to.

What road was the last road they saw,

any hedge lines, pylons? Anything to pin down their location.

-You called in a helicopter.

-We did.

-And they managed to spot them.

-Yes.

-You shouted out instructions?

-Yeah, we still had no idea exactly where she was.

So the caller could see the helicopter and she managed to give me directions

-to pass on to the helicopter.

-How did they get out?

-Once they saw them, we knew they'd be OK.

-The helicopter directed ground units in to pull them out.

-Lovely. Thank you very much.

Now the case of a fox cub that mistook a drain for his den.

Animal rescue specialist Buster Brown can tell us all about it.

The residents thought it was a young dog or a puppy in the drain system.

-Which makes sense. It was a suburban area.

-Yeah, a new housing estate.

An extension of the estate was being built, hence how the animal could get into the system.

It's in the drainage system. What did you do first?

I located it in a drain using a mirror and tried some chimney rods.

Unfortunately, I needed 24

-to reach the fox.

-Gosh.

-But that failed. I couldn't reach him.

-Chimney rods out. What next?

-I called for a local appliance.

-The fire fighters turn up.

-Yeah.

With the hose. I said what the idea was we would flood the drain and I would go into a manhole cover

and catch it in the net. Hopefully, it would run away from the water.

-It wouldn't get swept up. Did that work?

-No.

It was more elusive than we thought and went along a different system.

-Right. So you were just going to leave it to its fate.

-Well, my theory was that if we'd scared it

we'd encourage it to go back from whence it had come.

-Mm-hm.

-And we'd just made up all the equipment

-and somebody said they thought they heard it.

-And did they find it?

-Further up the road!

-Oh, no!

-It was working away all the time. At that stage, we managed to locate it and trap it.

-And the fire fighters got it out?

-They put the hose into the drain,

flooded the drain and, using the branch,

once they'd flooded the drain and it didn't come out, I said stop.

And the foreman withdrew his branch from the drain and the fox came out following it.

It didn't look very happy.

No, it was wet, bedraggled and hungry and it tried to give me a nip as well.

Let's see what it thought of you.

Well, that's a result.

It was...

His fur is incredibly dry.

Right, brilliant. Happy about that.

He's just not best pleased. All that time and effort.

He probably didn't understand we were trying to rescue it. It was frightened, very hungry.

We handed it back to the RSPCA and they were able to give it a good bill of health

-and it was released in the wild.

-Was it wet at the time?

Its fur on the outside was very wet, but the lower levels were dry,

so it hadn't got too wet or cold.

-Thanks very much.

-You're welcome.

Ahh. I wanted to introduce you. Remember I said about police uniforms? We had a quick look.

We saw the guys all kitted out. We've got Dan and and Aaron here to talk about what they wear.

-What kit have you got on?

-We've got our baton there, spray and handcuffs there.

And the whole vest-y thing?

This is our stab vest or body armour.

It's knife-resistant and shotgun blast-resistant.

-The spray, what does that do?

-That's incapacitant spray.

-How long does it take to work?

-It's instant.

-It's good, innit?

-Yes.

-It's a lot more butch.

-We've run out of time. Join us again next time for more Real Rescues.

-Bye-bye!

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd - 2011

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