Episode 14 Real Rescues

Today, drama as a lifeboat races to two fishermen in desperate trouble.

Just six minutes later, the boat goes under.

And a young asthmatic is frightened after hours of fighting for every breath,

but the last thing six-year-old Rhys wants to do is go back to hospital.

Don't panic, young man. You're just going to go to hospital. And the nurses there are lovely.

Hello and welcome to Real Rescues and to the South Western Ambulance Service control room.

-999 calls are coming in non-stop. Phil, can I talk for a second?

-Sure.

-It sounds as if it's been quite a busy day so far.

-Yeah, it has.

We've had quite a few calls. Kat's had an RTC.

Sophia's had a cardiac arrest,

Danny's had people with chest pains. And I had a lady who came off her horse and then it landed on her,

once she'd fallen. So she got crushed by the horse, unfortunately.

-Is that a typical day?

-It is quite busy, but a typical day for us.

-I'll let you get back to work. Louise.

-It sounds extremely busy!

Real Rescues covers emergencies that happen on land and at sea

and we're heading two miles off the Portsmouth coast first.

A fishing boat is taking on water so quickly it's about to sink.

There are two fishermen on board.

Early evening. The lifeboat crew are heading out to sea. A fishing boat, the Sea Bird, is in distress.

To hear a skipper of a fishing vessel in distress

you get that certain tone

that comes over the radio.

We knew we had to get out there quickly.

The sea is rough with heavy winds and the fishing boat is almost two miles out and sinking fast.

The lifeboat volunteers know they only have minutes to find her.

Volunteer Brittany is the first to spot the stricken boat.

The crew have set off a flare.

Even from this distance, they can see the back of the boat is low in the water.

The lifeboat crew realise that once the engine packs up,

the Sea Bird will go under in minutes.

It's too late for the salvage pump the crew have brought with them.

They shout to the skipper to turn the boat.

But the engine has failed twice.

Helmsman Peter is going to get on board to help the men get off.

The skipper was still in his wheelhouse, still underway.

We may have had difficulty getting him out.

He was in quite a dangerous position with being in the wheelhouse.

As soon as the boat lost power, the sea would very quickly come over the stern

and literally swallow the boat up.

Once he finds his feet on board, Pete quickly brings Lewis up to date.

They have even less time than they thought. The boat is holed.

But with the two boats violently pitching and tossing, they have to get the fishermen off

without anyone getting trapped between the boats.

The Sea Bird's crewman is going to need some encouragement.

The first fisherman, Michael, goes for it.

He slips, but somehow he makes it on board the lifeboat.

There's a Force 6 wind blowing and the lifeboat is in danger of being slammed against the Sea Bird.

Unable to stay in their current position, lifeboat helmsman Lewis will have to bring them round

for another pass.

We had to go ahead and peel away and do a circle.

We couldn't go astern of the vessel because Sea Bird was moving forward.

All the net and deck debris was being washed off her stern,

so I couldn't risk putting my lifeboat through that and getting them around our engines

cos then we'd be dead in the water and no use to anybody.

On the scene to help with the rescue is the Gosport inshore lifeboat,

but they, too, are finding it difficult to get close.

They approach for a second time, this time for the skipper.

Standing on the edge of the boat, he waits for the right moment to leap.

Not yet.

Bring it on.

Getting the skipper off was much easier than the crewman

because he was ready for it, he'd collected his paperwork, he seemed a lot more calm

and the conditions at the time, it was just fortuitous that he could literally do a step into the boat

with Brittany at the bow to help him in.

Both fisherman are now safely off the damaged vessel,

but once again to avoid getting snared, the RNLI lifeboat has to back off,

leaving their crewmate Peter still on board the sinking boat.

His colleague David fears for his safety.

Leaving a crewmate on a boat that we know is going down

is not a good situation to be in because he's not just a crewmate, he's a friend as well.

And if anything happened to him, then how could we live with ourselves?

We'll be seeing what happens to RNLI helmsman Pete as the Sea Bird disappears under the water.

999 calls are not always breathless emergencies, even when things don't quite go as they should.

We're about to hear two cool customers prepare to bring another cool customer into the world.

It's quite impressive just how calm these two first-time parents are,

even when they have to deal with a potential problem.

Brilliant! Brilliant stuff. Mum and Dad and little baby are here.

-It wasn't a boy, it was a girl!

-Indeed it was!

I have to say, and everybody who was listening to that, we are gobsmacked

about how calm you both were, especially you, Dad. I'd panic.

I suppose I was panicking inside, but just trying not to show it.

-Keep calm and carry on.

-Mum, normally you're surrounded by people in a hospital

and you've got hubby and a phone. Were you panicking?

There wasn't enough time.

She just came so quickly. Before you knew it, the head was there and she was out.

-There was just no time, really.

-In the space of about 20 minutes.

-Had you been doing a lot of research? Reading lots of books?

-Yeah.

-All through our pregnancy we watched every programme, all the books.

-Magazines.

-Yeah.

-Like it was meant to happen that way.

-And you're on Real Rescues now, another programme to learn more.

-Most people have gas when they're in hospital. What did you have?

-Two paracetamol.

-Two paracetamol?

-Yeah.

-Lots of mums thinking, "I couldn't have that!" But you were fine.

-Fine, yeah.

-And how about the call operator? Did you feel on your own?

-No.

It was great to have her there. You're trying to focus on delivering your baby and all being all right.

It was great to have her there to prompt you to do things. You didn't feel on your own.

Mm. Next birth, if you have plans for another baby, are you just handing over to Dad

-or what are your plans?

-We'll definitely have a home birth next time.

-Fancy being a midwife?

-I might do, second career.

-Let's see little Mia.

Mia, turn round to the cameras. Be a bit showbizzy. Ahh.

Look at that. Well done, Daddy.

-Daddy's little girl.

-Definitely!

-Thank you very much, both of you.

-Thank you.

Asthma is a common condition and a regular call-out for paramedics,

but that doesn't make it any less terrifying, especially for a child.

Six-year-old Rhys has been using up all his inhalers as he fights for breath,

but the last thing he wants is a trip to hospital.

Wokingham. Paramedic Lee Guyett and emergency care assistant Derek Penn

are going to a young boy who is unwell.

We're on our way to a scene where there is a six-year-old asthmatic with breathing difficulties.

Another paramedic, Andy Pope, has been sent ahead of them in a rapid response car.

Asthma attacks are a common call-out for ambulance crews.

They can range from the fairly minor to the seriously life-threatening.

Earlier today, one left little Rhys on his hands and knees, gasping for breath.

-He only blew 100.

-What do you normally get from him?

-He should do about 200 to 220.

After using his inhaler, Rhys is OK for 20 or so minutes, but then slips back into the same difficulties.

Have you spoken to the GP?

-We've only just moved here, so we have registered with them.

-But you're under an asthma nurse?

- Back in London. - He's got a slight wheeze.

I'll just do his stats and see what they say.

Rhys has been feeling poorly and lethargic for the last 48 hours.

Today alone, he's used his inhaler six times.

I'll pop this under your armpit to check your temperature. All right?

Just close your arm down.

In addition to feeling unwell, Rhys has got a temperature.

38.5. It's quite warm in here, though.

-So...

-Probably come down with an infection of some sort.

-Yeah, definitely.

Rhys is put on a nebuliser.

How's that? All right? Just breathe on it normally, like before.

It pushes compressed air through liquid medication, turning into a fine mist,

which is then inhaled to relieve the constricted airways.

Is that helping you?

-That's good.

-Feel any better? How does he seem to you?

He wasn't talking. He was just looking right through me.

Rhys' blood oxygen levels have now risen back to a nearly normal level,

but the team want to err on the side of caution.

-Worth getting checked over at the hospital.

-Not a bad idea.

Don't panic, young man. We're going to go to hospital just so they know about you.

The nurses there are lovely. They'll look after you, OK?

A family friend offers reassurance and will look after her two other daughters. Meanwhile, Mum prepares

to take her son to hospital once more.

-Mind the step, Mum.

-That's all we need, eh?

After saying goodbye to a concerned little sister...

I'll support you from behind.

He's in the best place, isn't he?

..Rhys is asked to do a peak flow test, which will gauge how much his airways are restricted.

-You know what you're doing with this.

-Have a blow through it.

That's it. So we'll do two or three.

-There we go. A little bit better.

-That's better.

-It's 120.

-That's good.

-It's very good.

With the medication, Rhys' condition appears to have improved markedly.

That sounds a lot better now. The wheeze has pretty much gone.

And the sound of an ice cream van also works wonders.

- I've missed the ice cream man. I've got money here. - We'll get you one when you finish.

That seems to have cleared up that wheeze. We just want to get to the bottom of why he's been unwell.

- Seatbelt on. - Yeah, see.

No chance of forgetting it here!

It's a 12-mile, 25-minute journey to the Royal Berkshire hospital.

- Can I take this off? - If you want to.

Thank you very much.

Here you are. Put this down, matey.

Oh, that's cold!

Rhys will be taken through to the paediatric A&E department

where doctors will start the process of coming up with a new treatment plan

to help get his asthma under better control.

I'm glad to say that Rhys does now have his asthma back under control.

Natalie is an expert clinician in all of this. You've got an example.

-This is a normal...?

-What a normal airway would look like.

-And that's asthmatic.

-Indeed.

-What is the front telling us?

On the asthmatic airway, the muscles have constricted down,

but more importantly on the inside of the airways the smooth muscle has become very inflamed and red

-and swollen and the body is making more mucus.

-You can see very clearly

that that's restricting that airway. What would it feel like?

It's not a very nice sensation, obviously. People at this stage would have difficulty in breathing,

they would probably have a wheeze, a cough, chest tightness possibly.

There's various symptoms they may experience.

If Rhys was using his inhaler, as many thousands of people do, would that clear this?

-This is what they aim to do?

-Depending on which inhalers he had.

If he was on the correct medication, then in theory this process wouldn't happen in the first place.

-What surprised me about all of this is that over 1,200 people still die every year of asthma.

-Absolutely.

And those figures haven't really changed for about the last 10 years.

-The tragic thing is that probably about 90% of those deaths could have been presented.

-How?

Again, it's partly due to the medication people are taking or not taking.

They may have been prescribed medication and aren't taking it.

Or they may not have had it in the first place.

Or they may have the medication and the technique of taking it is incorrect.

So you have to watch that very carefully. Are people normally asthmatic from birth? Or later?

It's variable. People can develop asthma at any age, so there's no set timelines as such for that.

So the good news is you can control it and some of our really famous athletes are asthmatics as well.

Indeed. If it's controlled properly,

then the national guidelines that we adhere to state that you should have no symptoms whatsoever.

-You should be symptom-free and live a normal, healthy life.

-And win gold medals!

-We hope so!

Thank you.

Now just a quick update on one of the stories we were telling you about a little bit earlier.

A woman had fallen off her horse and it fell on top of her. They tried to get a helicopter over

but there's too much fog today, so they've got an ambulance to her

and she's now safely back in an ambulance and in hospital.

So that's good news for her. It's been a busy day in here and a busy programme ahead.

Including what's inside the trailer?

Animal rescue specialist Buster Brown is about to open the box and find out.

We've been following the dramatic rescue of the crew of Sea Bird fishing boat off Portsmouth.

Now the boat is disappearing under the waves with one lifeboat volunteer still on board.

The fishing boat Sea Bird is going down fast.

Its two crew members have been rescued, but stranded on board is lifeboatman Peter.

With the sea conditions rough and the water full of dangerous debris and nets,

two separate lifeboats are fighting to get him off.

We train for this thing, we half expect it.

We're trained to rescue people

and save the vessel, but it didn't happen for the vessel.

Getting close is difficult as strong winds cause the sea to swell and they don't want to collide.

But the Sea Bird is taking on water so fast that it suddenly up-ends

with Peter on it. The Gosport lifeboat has no choice but to go in fast.

On the other RNLI lifeboat, Peter's friend David can only watch.

When I lost visual sight of Pete, by that time the boat had capsized.

And to lose sight of him, it's racing through your mind

that the worst has happened and he's got caught on the boat.

-He's there!

-But then Peter is spotted and hauled aboard.

Between us, the Gosport lifeboat was blocking my view of him.

I didn't realise he was in the water,

so to see him come up at the side of Gosport lifeboat, that really was a sigh of relief.

Everybody's got out safely, but there are mixed emotions for the Sea Bird's skipper Norman.

The skipper was quite happily motoring back to his home port,

then within the space of a few minutes it all was taken away.

'He was emotional, as you can expect, because his livelihood has literally gone under the water.

'I've never seen a boat'

go under that quick. I've seen things on films and it always seems to happen slower

on any kind of footage you see. Between us getting there

and the boat going down was about six minutes and that is quick.

- This is Brittany behind you. - She's the eye candy!

For trainee helmsman Lewis, it's been an interesting introduction to the job.

In times like that when you've only got six minutes to play with to get everyone off safely,

you've got to make a decision and go with it. You haven't got the time to think about it.

It's got to be a quick decision. "This is what we're going to do." Some worked, some didn't.

It's a learning curve at the end of the day.

The Sea Bird's crew are safe on land, but the boat is lying 13 feet under the surface.

A salvage operation is already being planned.

We have two people from that rescue on dry land in a nice, warm office.

Brittany and Peter, welcome. It's great to see you both.

Peter, the RNLI is a volunteer operation and you were on a day off on that particular day?

Yes. It's a charity, we're all volunteers and I was enjoying a nice cup of tea

at the catering bar next to the lifeboat station with my wife.

-And suddenly the beeper goes off...

-We were observing the lifeboat just coming back from training

and the guys shouted they were receiving a mayday. I joined them.

And you were on that training boat?

Yeah, I'd just come back in and we were just de-kitting

-as we heard the mayday call on the radio.

-And you went back in.

Automatically, the helmsman who was on the boat, a guy called Lewis,

said, "Everyone get kitted back up." I just put on the helmet, camera and jacket.

-And back out.

-Yeah.

-So one minute you're having a nice cup of tea,

the next minute you're going down with a trawler.

-Is that the first time you've gone down?

-It was literally minutes because it happened so quick.

-It is the first time that a boat has gone from beneath me.

-In how many years?

-I've been a volunteer for six years now.

-Right. What was it like?

There's so much going on. You're saying, "Get away, guys. I'm going down here."

Em, yes, it was so quick. There's so much adrenaline flowing.

Our major concern was to get them off the boat first.

And the lifeboat was pushed away from the vessel.

The decision was made by myself not to jump in case I ended up between the two boats.

The boat started to go and you saw the footage. I walked to the stern of the boat

-to propel myself away from it as it capsized.

-Thankfully, everyone was saved, but the captain

was in a pretty bad state. You played a great role in putting the arm round and consoling him.

Yes, on the way back in I think it kind of hit him.

At the time when he was jumping into our boat, he wasn't quite aware of what danger he was in.

On the way back, everything was going through his head,

and we noticed a couple of tears coming down his face.

We were just making sure he was OK, everything's fine. "You can replace boats, but we got you off."

Yeah. We got some great footage, but it wasn't just for us you were wearing this helmet.

-With a little camera. This is your helmet, Brittany.

-Which I wore.

-What do you do with this footage?

-Training is the major priority.

Footage from rescues can be analysed and used in training. Things to do and things you mustn't do.

Brilliant. I was just going to say a female crew member of the RNLI. Is that unusual?

Yeah, slightly unusual. A lot of people say, "You're part of the RNLI. What's that like?"

It's just the same. You get treated exactly the same.

-Quite right. No special treatment. Is it good?

-Yeah.

-Recommend it?

-Definitely recommend it.

I've enjoyed every single day. Love it to bits.

-Bet you're glad she spotted you.

-I was glad. It's great teamwork

-and she had visual on myself in the water.

-Brittany and Peter, thank you very much.

-And keep safe and sound!

-We will.

Now a head-on collision leaves one motorist lying dazed on the road and another walking and talking,

but things are not as they seem. The paramedics have to check very carefully to find out who really is

the most in need of help.

Ambulance crew Oliver and Dave are on their way to a road accident.

Two cars have collided on a country road, one carrying children.

Arriving, they find ambulance technician Paul Webb already in attendance after reaching the scene

in a rapid response car. He crouches over a distressed Melissa.

Close your eyes. Relax.

Melissa was driving the Passat with her two children in the back.

Her children have escaped unhurt, but when she got out of the car

-Melissa began to feel faint and had to lie down.

-How are you feeling? You were feeling dizzy.

-How are you at the moment?

-OK.

-Do you feel you could sit up for me?

-Yeah, I'd like to try.

Having cleared her of any spinal injury, they can get Melissa up on her feet.

This is my colleague Dave. He's going to help on that side. Just sit up slowly.

Just nice and slowly.

Just bend your knees.

There we go. All right?

In the meantime, a local fire crew have arrived. The other car involved, a Ford Fiesta,

has smoke coming from the engine and they need to make it safe to prevent any sudden ignition.

At first it seemed that the three people in the Fiesta had also escaped injury.

Stay nice and still. Don't look left, don't look right.

But Hannah, who was in the back seat, has started to feel pain in her side and neck.

-Have you got any pins and needles in your hands?

-On the right a little when I tense it.

The team can't afford to take any chances.

Hannah will now be hospital bound.

Meanwhile, Melissa's still shaken.

-Does that hurt at all?

-No.

-Any pain around there?

-No.

That's fine. I can squeeze. That's fine.

-I think it's just the shock.

-And this side hurts most because of the seatbelt.

-Yeah.

Let's lay you down. Right? Trust us.

The only time to ever trust a bloke.

With a possibility she may have some sort of spinal injury,

Paul and Oliver are taking great care to keep Hannah's back straight.

We'll move you down a bit.

-All right? Just try and relax.

-Relax there. Is that better?

-Yeah.

Steady. Slide.

-Happy?

-Yeah. Just put your head down.

Melissa goes home with instructions to take regular painkillers

and to book a follow-up appointment with her GP.

While Hannah has started to complain about some abdominal tenderness.

-Just in your belly here?

-Oh, please, don't press.

-Is it sore over here?

-No.

-When we get in the ambulance, we'll have a good look.

She'll be accompanied in the ambulance by her boyfriend Ben.

Also a passenger, he came out unscathed.

Just the one.

So far, Hannah has been remarkably cheerful, considering,

but once in the ambulance, her mood changes.

SHE SOBS

-I know. Sorry.

-All right...

-There's a seatbelt mark here.

-It's down there it hurts?

-Yeah!

The seatbelt's gone into your tummy, all right?

-And it still hurts back here as well?

-Yeah.

For the journey, the team give Hannah gas and air. The main effect is to soothe her pain.

The secondary effect is to lighten her spirits which may mean a rough ride for Ben.

-Our anniversary's on the 9th, isn't it, Ben?

-Yeah, that's how I was trying to work it out.

-How long is it?

-A month and a bit.

-A month and a bit?

-Yeah.

I fancied him for ages and he didn't like me.

-Aw! Do you like her now with these big orange blocks?

-Yeah, I do. I think it's a new look.

It's the sexiest I've ever been(!)

-If you had walked up to him with those orange blocks at the side of your face...

-Please stop!

-..he'd have been yours straight away.

-That's right.

-Ow!

At Southampton General Hospital, Hannah will be taken to the emergency department.

They'll look into whether she needs X-rays to check for neck injuries

and possibly an echo scan to rule out any internal damage.

There'll be a couple of bumps on the way out. We'll get you off there as soon as we can, all right?

We've all walked past a school playground and heard lots of screaming and shouting

and think, "Something is seriously wrong there."

-Sometimes it is, as Mark is just about to explain. Mark, are you OK?

-Yeah, not bad.

A woman called you and said that the screaming is a little bit different. Tell me what happened.

She was in her kitchen at the time.

She could see the playground from her window

and she could see the kids playing and hear them laughing and screaming

Then she heard a scream that sounded a bit blood-curdling, so she wasn't too happy with it.

Instinct told her to call 999, which she did. She sent her husband across

and she could see that he was in wit a group of people all huddled round,

looking at something, she wasn't too happy with it.

I couldn't get too much information from her, apart from, obviously, that she'd heard this scream.

Then as I was speaking to her, there was another call coming in

that said a young lad had gone over the wall, not realising how big a drop it was the other side

and had fallen and broken his leg.

-He was in serious trouble.

-Yeah.

-But it wasn't all over? It got quite complicated, the rescue?

-It did.

We had an ambulance which was just round the corner which turned up.

While I was still on the line, they put a note on the job saying they needed the fire brigade for access.

They couldn't go over the same way that the kid did,

so they had to take away a portion of the wall to get through to him and extract him out.

-He's all right now, the young lad?

-Yeah, recovering well, I believe.

-Thank you. Get back to work.

-Cheers.

Many 999 calls are from people in a desperate situation like the one we are about to hear.

Margo Williams has woken to find her husband barely breathing and turning a very worrying colour.

I'm very glad to say that Brian is here, as is Margo, who you heard on the phone.

-The first time you've heard that?

-Yes.

-And Ray, who was the first person to arrive.

What I love about that is you were so polite. You came upstairs and said, "I'm sorry."

-What did you say to Margo when you were helping Brian?

-I could see Brian was in quite a serious way.

I needed to get him on the floor because he was in cardiac arrest.

I didn't want to drag him off the bed unceremoniously,

which I was going to do anyway, but I wanted to warn Margo that I was going to do that.

-I said, "I'm really sorry. I'm going to have to drag your husband off the bed."

-What did you say to him?

-"Do whatever you have to do."

-You realised things were really serious.

-Very serious.

-Basically, he was navy blue.

-Navy blue?

-He was navy blue.

So I got Brian off the bed and started CPR.

I opened up his airway

and I was doing CPR with my knees holding his head in a tilted position, doing CPR.

-A bit unconventional, because I knew there was a crew backing me up.

-Right, OK.

But I wanted to let them know it was cardiac arrest

-because he was making a funny noise.

-Right.

So, a bit sort of unconventional, but I was doing one-handed CPR as hard as I could

with my knees holding his head.

Whatever it takes because it clearly worked.

Then radioing to my control to tell the crew this was a cardiac arrest, so they'd bring the other kit in.

-They shocked him four times?

-They shocked him four times, yeah.

You saved his life by realising that something was going on.

-It was all part of the chain reaction, really.

-Hmm.

You know, the fact that I woke up to him,

that Ray was there so quickly, he wa just at the bottom of the road.

The fact he had to have four shocks, that meant it could have medical implications later?

We didn't actually know exactly how long he had been down and really not breathing,

so, obviously, his major concern was brain damage and recovery.

-How is he doing, Margo? He looks all right to me. How are you doing, Brian?

-I'm doing very well.

-You were in a coma for a while, weren't you?

-Yeah.

The thing is, I went to bed that night perfectly well.

And I woke up after six days in the Royal Bournemouth Hospital out of a coma,

confused, obviously,

but not knowing anything, not having felt anything at that time.

But, um...realising, you know,

that, um...

It was answers to prayer that God saved me,

but, you know, I've had it said to m that I'm a walking miracle.

And I am, but miracles are of God, but God used my wife Margo and Ray.

-And all the rest of them as well.

-The back-up teams

and the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, the intensive care...

And as Margo has filled me in over months, really, before I could take it in,

you just realise how much I owe...

What I love about you two is you're clearly not letting go of each other, are you?

Well, we've been married almost 44 years.

Many congratulations on the 44 years and may there be many more as well!

- I hope so. - We're very close, but we're even closer now.

-And we treasure life more together since this happened.

-I bet you do.

-Thank you for coming to see us.

-Thank you for asking us.

Brilliant stuff. Well done, Ray and Margo.

The animal rescue specialists will treat any large trapped animal as a killing machine,

particularly if it's a horse that is stuck. They can kick out from almost any position.

If you ask the animal rescue specialists how do they approach a highly strung competition horse,

the reply is more often than not "very carefully".

An emergency call has come in to Hampshire Fire's Animal Rescue Team.

Buster Brown is heading to a horse that has become trapped in its trailer.

When he gets there, a vet has already sedated the horse.

The local fire crew are on scene as well, but they are waiting

for expert Buster to arrive before they open up the trailer.

The horse has somehow got both its front legs over the bar. Now it's trapped.

But at any time, it might kick out with its hind legs.

Buster is attached to a line. If the horse does react, he can be pulled out of the danger zone.

Five-year-old Tosca, a valuable eventing horse, was being taken to a show by owners Kate and Charlotte

when they heard noises in the back.

It seems Tosca was trying to jump over the breast bar at the back of the horse box.

That bar is now pushing up into the horse's abdomen.

When Kate and Charlotte checked inside, they knew they had no hope of freeing Tosca by themselves

and called in the experts.

Although Tosca is calm now, even with sedation, he could kick off at any moment.

The problem with trapped animals

is that initially they will fight to release themselves.

When they can't release themselves, they go into this dormant stage

and if you're not trained in animal rescue, you could lead yourself into a false sense of security.

The bar is designed to stop an animal being thrown into the back door of the trailer,

but this horse clearly had other ideas.

If you're in a bus or a train, as it moves off,

the natural reaction is for you to b pushed in the opposite direction,

so the manufacturers of the bar across the back of the trailer,

which enables the horse to rest against, it's a breast bar, a scaffold pole in effect.

The only way to get Tosca out is to unbolt and remove the bar.

Buster is going to take the bar mechanism to pieces,

then it can be lowered down, but he'll need help.

Very slowly, the bar is moved away from Tosca.

So far, so good.

It's always difficult. When you start to release an animal,

it senses that release of freedom and that's the time it can react.

Just at that moment, someone starts to open the small jockey door near Tosca's head.

If a trapped horse gets sight of an escape route, its natural instinct is to make a dash for it.

Buster turns the horse, preventing him from finding his own way out.

It's a textbook rescue. Tosca has escaped without any serious injuries.

-I just want to have a chat with Natalie who has just come off a call. You are OK to talk?

-Yeah.

About a lady, a mum who phoned you up in her car, really in a panic because...?

Baby wasn't responding to her any more. She was driving along

and she noticed it had gone unconscious at the back of the car.

She stopped. How big was this baby?

-18 months old.

-She's phoned you.

-Yeah.

-What did you tell her to do?

I went through a series of questions with her like we do

and as the last resort, got her to tickle Baby's tummy

and she came round and was gurgling away.

How did you come up with that? I know you have lots of set questions, but you'd tried everything else.

-How did you come up with "tickling tummy"?

-Just cos I'm a mum.

I've had two babies and I know a lot of them are ticklish.

-So she tickled her tummy and then she woke up, effectively?

-She woke up, yeah, and she was fine.

-And the ambulance was on its way?

-The ambulance found her.

-So simple things can sometimes help?

-Yeah.

-It helps being a mum as well.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Thanks very much, Natalie.

-Thank you.

-Mums always know best.

It's been a busy day here. We've just had another phone call from a panicky mum.

Her six-year-old has had a really allergic reaction to a hamster.

The ambulance arrived and they're now in hospital, safe and sound.

-Amazing stories around here every day.

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

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd