Episode 11 Helicopter Heroes

When you're critically ill or seriously injured, every minute you wait for aid can feel like an hour,

which is why a helicopter like this can be one of the most beautiful sights in the world.

This is the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and their business is saving lives.

From the Dales to Leeds and Sheffield, patients are never more than 10 minutes from a hospital

thanks to this 150-mile-an-hour lifesaver and every day brings a new life and death emergency.

Two helicopters, four paramedics, five million patients.

Today on Helicopter Heroes: the crew are called to their oldest patient,

90 years old and stranded in her moorland home.

Our neighbours are 3 miles away.

A man suffers 20% burns after a bizarre accident.

Freak weather brings chaos to one of Yorkshire's busiest motorways.

Everywhere else is clear blue sky.

And the sporting injuries that keep the flying paramedics busy.

He landed forward on his head and shoulders.

Millions of people dream of having a view like this from their home,

but life in a national park is not as perfect as those of us in cities might think.

The Yorkshire Dales cover 7,000 miles of national park.

It's a landscape visitors can and do get lost in and this is home to a shrinking population

prepared to put up with the isolation of living in one of Britain's most remote areas.

2,000 feet up on the fells, one of the Dales' oldest residents needs help.

This 300-year-old farmhouse, three miles from the nearest road is owned by 90-year-old Joan Currington.

'She came here about 40 years ago.'

As a divorcee with three children.

Two local paramedics have hitched a lift from a neighbour after their ambulance got stuck two miles away.

We're next door neighbours - three miles away! We live at the edge of the road

and her drive starts there, three-and-a-half miles of green lanes and rubble tracks.

-Let's put this around you, sweetheart.

-I have a son-in-law at the moment...

flying those awful things that scream all over the place.

Mrs Currington collapsed in her home and she has a nasty head wound.

You're not feeling yourself, really.

With a patient of this age, any injury is serious. The question is how to get her to hospital.

Miles from anywhere and no road to it, no hard standing road.

It's very isolated.

And that's why Heli Med 99 is on its way to a small dot on a large map.

We're going to a dwelling in the middle of nowhere, looking at the contour lines.

It's paramedic Tony Wilkes' job to find Mrs Currington's home.

As you can see from the cockpit, it's just acre after acre of open moorland.

It sometimes makes navigating quite difficult.

We're looking out for a reservoir.

'York Control.'

Our ETA is 1746.

Do you have an update available? Over.

'I'm afraid we don't have an update from the land ambulance.

'They've lost all mobile phone contact due to the remoteness of the location. Over.'

Straight ahead of us now.

Yeah, that could be it.

One o'clock. Red car in field. We're just directly on top now.

Landing on the fell is like stepping back in time.

The people of the Dales are as rugged as the hills they live in. Mrs Currington has no mains water,

electricity or gas, but she has had medical care.

Dr Jones comes up on his horse once or twice a week and that's it, really.

Hello. Smells delightful in here.

-What have you been up to today?

-I haven't been up to anything.

-It seems they do things to me.

-Oh, dear.

-How old are you?

-SHE SIGHS

-I had my 90th birthday a week ago.

-Fantastic!

I'd hoped to forget it, and everybody reminds me!

Mrs Currington is used to going days on end without visitors. Today she has a houseful.

But there's a mystery. She can't remember where she collapsed and the paramedics don't know why.

-The lady doesn't know if she's fallen or not.

-I think I must have done,

cos I'm a bit battered.

It's information they need to know before deciding if it's safe to fly her.

Mrs Currington has had a fall and has some confusion.

We're not sure when she fell. It could have been yesterday, just in the kitchen or downstairs.

She's not presenting with anything sinister, but she lives by herself,

has lived in this wonderful home for 30 years and I'd like to check that it's nothing nasty.

Coming up: Sammy searches for the cause of Mrs Currington's illness

-in a house where time stood still.

-No evidence of falling.

A spring snowstorm turns the motorway and paramedic Pat can't believe his eyes.

Everywhere else is clear blue sky!

And a rugby player is airlifted from the pitch after a tackle goes wrong.

Paramedics carry some of the strongest painkillers available,

but when a patient is badly burnt, new treatments help make life more comfortable.

Grass track racing is a popular sport in Yorkshire.

All you need is an old banger, a few tools and plenty of spare time.

But at a farm near Selby, one racing driver has been involved in a freak accident.

We've got a gentleman who's been draining fuel from his racing car.

For some reason it caught fire and he's got quite severe burns to his head and face.

Paramedics Paul Bradbury and Simon Cavanagh know burns victims can be the hardest patients to treat.

About 10 minutes' flight time. I think there's no ambulances nearby.

They might respond before we get there.

Pilot Steve Cobb has other things on his mind.

The patient's home is right under the flight path into one of the north's busiest flying clubs

and the weekend pilots are airborne.

-Look for students.

-Well, the airfield's there.

They finally manage to touch down safely at the family farm.

-How's he burnt himself?

-Took his petrol out of the race car.

And he went to light a fire

and had petrol on his hands.

-Is it just his hands?

-His hand, his arm and his...

Richard Spencer's dad believes his son was trying to light a bonfire when fuel on his clothes ignited.

Just there. There you are.

Richard is desperately trying to bathe his burnt face.

He's in agony, but with burns that's good news. The most serious cases have little or no discomfort

because fire has damaged the nerves in the skin.

The good news is, strangely, because it's very painful you haven't done a lot of damage.

You'll be blistered for a bit. We'll get decent dressings on.

They have an unconventional but effective treatment for burns.

A wet mask cools and protects the face and helps prevent scarring.

But when you're cutting out eye holes against the clock, it's easy to get your fingers in the way.

Might be fingernail in this one! OK, now don't be alarmed, but it's like a mask.

It's got cooling gel on. We'll get this on, Richard.

Better?

Is that better? Cooler?

We'll wrap clingfilm round this.

Clingfilm is also a useful treatment for the paramedics.

It stops air getting to the burns on his arms and reduces the pain.

Richard's home is out of the way and the helicopter has beaten local paramedics to the scene.

Now they're all lending a hand to ensure he gets to a burns unit as quickly as possible.

Superficial burns caused by petrol to his face,

both arms

and a little bit of his neck.

GCS 15.

Up to Control now.

Hi, Chris. We're with him now. Five minutes there.

He's got probably 25% burns, superficial burns.

They're the best type to have. They'll heal.

We're trying to numb the pain. If that doesn't work, I'll give him morphine to numb it even more,

but he's not too bad, thankfully.

In one way at least, Richard has been lucky.

His home is less than 20 miles from the regional burns unit in Wakefield.

Its surgeons are experts in treating injuries like this.

We've more or less controlled his pain.

I'm not going to muck around.

I'm just getting an idea what his pulse is like

and basically how he is. He's got no other injuries.

Heli Med 99.

Richard's a motorsport nut, but he won't be driving his car for a while.

They think his burns are minor, but it will be some time before doctors know how his skin will recover.

Coming up: Richard's burns cover 20% of his body. Will he be able to drive again?

Sammy tries to solve a medical mystery in the home of a 90-year-old accident victim.

No evidence of falling in there.

And the team face a difficult rescue after a runner falls in the woods.

A big crack, like bone snapping.

The weather plays a big part in the lives of the Heli Med crew.

But sometimes the forecast doesn't tell the whole story.

Yorkshire is the UK's electricity powerhouse,

with three huge power stations turning coal into instant energy 24 hours a day.

On a summer's day, their huge clouds of steam are great landmarks for the Heli Med crews.

But in winter they are associated with a weird weather phenomenon.

And today Heli Med 99 pilot Matt Niven is about to find out all about it.

-There it is now, Matt.

-Visual.

Got traffic moving on that one.

The team are on their way to a road accident in the shadow of the giant Ferrybridge power station.

Reports are coming in that there's a female trapped.

It's quite a foggy morning.

We're having difficulty finding them through the mist.

There's lots of things to consider with road accidents - your own safety, how many casualties,

triaging, that sort of thing. Then you've got to get to Casualty.

You assess the severity of their injuries and plan what to do.

Over much of Yorkshire, it's a typical early spring day,

but down on the A1 motorway, something odd is going on -

hail and snow are bringing chaos to one of Yorkshire's busiest roads.

But the snowstorm appears to be only two miles across, centred on the power station's cooling towers.

This sort of weather simply isn't in the textbooks.

And for Matt Niven it's making planning a landing

in an area littered with power cables an even bigger nightmare.

We've got a large set of wires to the right and crossing the road.

I don't think anywhere's ideal.

-I'll stick it down here. Happy?

-Yeah.

A woman in a hatchback has spun and hit the crash barrier.

It's not surprising. Dr Andy Pountney and paramedic Pat Greaken find the road like a skating rink.

Hello.

The driver is shaken up and complaining of pains in her neck.

Take that in for me. All right. I've done the heart.

She's been very lucky to escape so lightly from the impact.

I think you've just got whiplash. It's really going to stiffen up, OK?

-Give yourself some Ibuprofen. Tomorrow you'll feel stiff as a board.

-Yeah.

-OK.

The key is to keep moving.

The hailstones keep falling. Down the road it's bright sunshine as it is two minutes further north.

It's weird. There's hailstones. Everywhere else is blue sky.

Must get moisture from the cooling towers.

Causing this freak hail storm.

The fire service are concerned this may not be the last accident.

Soon the casualties are piling up - a Merc spins off into the banking.

The local emergency services are stretched to the limit

and Dr Andy and Pat are taking their share of the workload.

We're just going to look at these other casualties.

The driver of a very bent Audi is recovering in the back of a fire engine.

Let's have a good look at him. ..Just turn towards me.

That needs at least glue, maybe a couple of stitches.

He's not badly hurt, but back in the fast lane, the chaos is continuing.

The number of smashed-up vehicles is approaching double figures

and many of the victims are baffled.

It was sunny in Bradford. Get to here and it were dull, but this is like an ice rink.

Even the medics are in trouble. This collision with a pick-up truck shook an ambulance man

and the motorist has pains in his neck.

-Does that hurt anywhere else?

-There.

-That side feel OK? Outside feel OK?

The weather was absolutely fine.

As soon as I've come onto the A1 northbound, it is as you see it and, unfortunately, I was hit.

We're patrolling the M62 today. It's nothing like this.

I started spinning round there, hit the barrier and ambulance.

It's spring, believe it or not!

Despite the dangerous conditions that led to the accidents, none of the victims was seriously hurt

and they went to hospital by road.

Heli Med 99 is free to return to base...or it will be when Matt clears the snow from its rotors.

Coming up: a racing driver's being treated for serious burns.

-Did the medical mask make a difference?

-Petrol on you takes a long while to evaporate.

And a teenage show jumper is in agony. Has her fall aggravated an old injury?

She's fractured her spine before?

Giving hospital doctors the full story on a patient's accident is a vital part of a paramedic's job,

but sometimes finding out the truth can be tricky.

In the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, Heli Med 99's flown to the rescue of 90-year-old Joan Currington,

who lives alone on a 2,000-foot hilltop. She's collapsed, injuring her head,

but the paramedics need to know why.

She doesn't know what she's done. She's in a mess.

Whereabouts did it happen?

Sammy Wills thinks the answer is somewhere in her rambling, 300-year-old house.

That's what you call a storeroom.

She's got black stuff on her, but doesn't know where she's fallen.

Where's the coal? It looks like a coal fire.

Sammy decides to search for clues. Mrs Currington's coal-stained hands could be a lead.

No evidence of falling in there. It is quite cold in here. No evidence of falling.

We're going with the worst case scenario, if she fell from her stairs. Quite a gentle slope,

-but even now there's no blood.

-Finally, they find traces of blood near to her coal-fired stove.

No one's saying it, but it could be carbon monoxide poisoning. If so, she needs a hospital check-up.

Looks like she fell last night. She's got a big bump to her head.

Other than that, she's relatively well.

It's taken ground paramedics half an hour to drive here up steep tracks from the valley below.

It's no way for a lady born during WWI to travel.

We're just making a game plan.

These guys had to travel three miles over a dirt track.

We don't have a carrying chair to get her to the aircraft.

We'll bring the stretcher to here. She has been up and walking.

She's surprised she has to go to hospital, but we explained.

Pilot Steve Cobb is a cat lover and he also has the welfare of her pets in mind.

-Sammy, she needs to leave food for the cat.

-Right.

-We'll fly you to Harrogate...

-But how will she feel about flying?

# Here we go... #

-Can you see it there?

-Oh!

-Close enough?

-Almost exactly where I would have out it!

Tell him where would have been best.

-I've never had so much attention in all my life.

-You deserve it.

All we'll ask you to do now is sit down.

Mrs Currington's never been afraid of technology. During the war, she was a BBC recording engineer.

Now she's looking forward to a flight in Heli Med 99.

Oh, snug as a bug. So your cats are taken care of. Your home will be locked up.

And they've got your daughter's phone number. Ready for a ride?

-Everything seems to be perfect.

-Good. OK, then.

At 90 years old, Mrs Currington is about to break a record for Helimed 99.

I think that's a new record for us, if we can get her in the aircraft.

Apparently, she's quite stubborn, so we shall see.

This is why the Air Ambulance is here because otherwise there would be no help for this lady.

It's quite out the way.

-I have to say "Oi" to people because I don't know...

-Sorry, I'm Sammy and this is Tony.

Today's patient was in her 20s when the first successful helicopter took to the skies

and this is her first flight.

The crew know elderly patients can find flying a frightening experience.

Coming up, will Mrs Currington think twice about flying

and can she cope with a high-speed flight to hospital?

Anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable?

And the Strictly Come Dancing star they call The Dazzler drops in to meet his namesake.

I can just see you in a tutu!

Paramedics often leave patients at the hospital door and predicting how they will recover is difficult.

But there can be a nice surprise.

At a farm near Selby, there's been a freak accident with a racing car.

Grass track racer Richard Spencer has 20% burns.

Petrol has ignited on his face and arms.

He's in great pain. Helimed 99's paramedics carry a special wet mask to treat burns,

but Richard needs to get to hospital quickly.

Helimed 99, just about to take off.

The farm is 20 miles from the only specialist burns unit in Yorkshire, Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.

Flying paramedic Paul Bradbury is a motor sport fan himself.

He goes carting and he's seen incidents like this before.

'They're extremely painful and we've tried to dose him up on painkillers.'

Step down, about two foot down.

'Once you've got petrol on it, it takes a long while to evaporate,

'so try not to go anywhere near naked flames in the near future.'

He's got superficial flash burns.

Had they been more intense, it would have been a different story.

With a compromised airway, they'd have been rushing him in.

Richard's been lucky. If he'd inhaled the flames, his injuries could have been fatal.

Thanks to painkilling gas and his special dressings, he can tell the doctors exactly what happened

before they plan his treatment.

What a difference three days makes!

Richard's about to head home, having learned a painful lesson.

I didn't think I spilt a lot, so I put it all away.

I wiped my hands with the rag.

I went to the muck heap with the straw, hay and that, lit it

and it just sort of went up.

It was just like a whooshing noise and I just went blind for a second.

I got up from the floor, I ran to the tap and that were it.

The wet mask, which was put on to Richard's face within 15 minutes,

means he should heal with little or no scarring.

His treatment may look bizarre, but it certainly seems to work.

Like an A4 piece of paper, but moist.

They just cut a couple of holes in it and stuck it on your face.

You're coming out like that, so it's a bit strange.

For a man who likes living on the edge, Richard is not a keen flier

and taking off in Helimed 99 was almost as frightening as waiting for the treatment to his burns.

It's a bit scary when you've not been in one before.

"Your air ambulance is here."

You can't really kick and scream and say, "No!"

So it was like, "OK..." And then getting in and hope for the best!

It is good. We need more of 'em.

And within a month or so, Richard was back at the wheel.

His burns have healed, but he's a bit more careful now at pit-stops.

Coming up, an injured pensioner becomes Helimed 99's oldest patient when she takes to the skies at 90.

It feels nice and slow.

Keeping fit can keep you out of hospital,

but every weekend, some unlucky sportsmen find out their game has a downside -

from broken limbs to something more serious, and when that happens, the Helimed team come to the rescue.

Helimed 99 are used to visitors to Air Ambulance HQ,

but waltzing in today is a very special guest.

Cricketer Darren Gough is a proud Yorkshireman and a passionate fund-raiser for the Air Ambulance.

We had a casual day like at school

and we had to put a few quid each time into the kitty. And it adds up.

Darren has come to present yet another cheque to the charity,

but could the team's own Darren become a TV twinkle-toes?

I don't dance unless I'm intoxicated, then I can't dance.

I learnt to dance, so if I can, you can. I can just see you in a tutu.

There is a special affection for the Air Ambulance among sportsmen.

And with good reason. Sporting injuries make up a large proportion of the Air Ambulance's work.

Today, Helimed 98 is on its way to a practice match at Thrybergh School in South Yorkshire.

A 14-year-old has been playing rugby, sustained a head injury and is unconscious at this stage.

He was tackled and he landed forward on his head and shoulders.

He was quite shocked and had pains in his neck, so we left him where he is.

He complained of pain in his back, so he was immobilised prior to us arriving.

We'll take him down to Rotherham.

The patient is in considerable pain and you can never be too careful with spinal injuries.

Most of the paramedics are sportsmen themselves.

But opinions on which sport is best differ.

I was a prop forward? No, I was a winger and then a centre.

You've got two men's sports - motor-racing and rugby. I do motor-racing. He does football.

Motor-racing, motor-racing? Go-karts, isn't it, Paul?

This is the smoothest way to get to hospital.

Five minutes later, he's arriving at the local A&E department.

Coming in to land now. OK, mate...

And the good news - doctors found no serious injury.

Just a few weeks later, the Helimed team were on their way back to South Yorkshire

to the aid of another rugby player.

He's been in a tackle and he's complaining of pain in his neck.

And his back. The crew on scene think he may have some paralysis.

Serious rugby injuries are relatively rare,

but scrums and bone-crunching tackles can and do lead to life-long disability.

A potential spinal injury you must treat with the utmost care

and be as smooth as you can.

One benefit of the Air Ambulance is it can be just that.

It is a very smooth method of transport.

You might think nothing fazes flying paramedics, but even they draw the line at rugby.

I played once. It terrified me. They passed the ball to me and everybody ran for me. I dropped it and ran off!

16-year-old Damien Broadbent's first game has come to an abrupt end.

Ground paramedics have carefully moved Damien on to a spinal board to protect his back,

but they're worried he could be paralysed.

We'll take him down to Northern General and get him sorted out there.

It's slow and steady progress. The team don't want to cause any further damage.

It's an anxious time for Damien and his family.

But it's only ten minutes to hospital in Sheffield.

I'm happy to say Damien suffered no long-term damage and he is now back playing rugby.

From footie to surfing and even ice-climbing,

the Air Ambulance flying medics aren't afraid to try risky sports,

but none of them are keen on one popular pastime.

The twisting and falling off a horse can often cause back pain

and it's hard to tell if it's a fracture or soft tissue damage.

The dangers of riding take their toll on the people

who prefer to spend their spare time on four legs.

A large, green barn-type building...

Helimed 98 has been scrambled to an indoor riding school near Sheffield.

The patient's hurt her back in a fall from a horse and her medical history could be important.

So she's fractured her spine before?

Apparently, but it was a query. I don't think it was a definite.

-This was last year?

-In Australia.

20-year-old Emma Pearce's medical history means any back injury must be treated very seriously.

Her spine needs the protection of a special stretcher, but she mustn't bend her back.

What we're going to do with this is, um...

We're just gonna put folk behind her, then lower her on to the board as we lie her down.

Let me put this board behind you.

With Emma's medical history involving a serious back injury in a speedboat accident two years ago,

Simon and Paul are taking no chances.

-All the way down.

-Yeah.

Nearly there.

That's it. Fantastic. Well done, Emma.

Paul is trying to confirm she still has feeling in her legs,

which means her spine should be undamaged.

-If I rub your leg like that, do you feel that?

-Yeah.

-Do you feel that?

-Yeah.

-Any difference?

-No.

Sport can be dangerous. Often, horse-riders do sustain quite serious injuries.

Horse-riding is the second most dangerous sport.

She's been thrown against a wooden board and then she's collapsed to her knees.

The paramedic on the scene got concerned

that she had a previous back injury in Australia.

It felt similar to what's happened now. She's in quite a lot of pain.

After a short flight to hospital, an X-ray confirmed Emma was only suffering from severe bruising

and she was soon back in the saddle.

Yorkshire's hills and dales mean serious runners have more than exhaustion to deal with.

Fell running is gruelling, but popular, and keeping fit can involve taking on some dangerous terrain.

People can be out running. On rough ground, on even terrain, you might fall over.

Usually, it's sprains and strains, but possibly fractures.

Today, Helimed 98 is on its way into the woods in Wharfedale

where a runner has tumbled off a track and broken his leg.

-There are some people stood in a field there.

-And there's a man.

-Looks pretty flat.

-Yeah.

A ground ambulance crew have trekked through the woods to reach him.

It's a bad break.

-He's down there. We haven't got a stretcher yet.

-Is it a spinal injury?

No, it's just a lower leg fracture.

His name's Peter. He slipped on here and he heard a crack.

-Hi, Peter.

-Hi there.

-Do you remember what happened?

-My leg slipped down.

I landed on top of it. There was a big crack like a branch snapping.

We'll take this gentleman up the side of that bank.

And probably fly him to Harrogate, or somewhere more convenient for him, but it's Harrogate at the minute.

Peter's been lying in the mud for nearly an hour.

He's cold and in pain. The paramedics have a cure for both - morphine and a foil blanket.

-That's really bad.

-Can we get two of you down the middle?

-Ready to go?

-Yeah.

Peter may look like a giant, oven-ready turkey, but he'll soon be warm and on his way to hospital.

Paramedics don't resent treating the victims of sport injuries.

It's just part of their job.

And being a couch potato is probably more dangerous.

I'm pleased to say that all our patients are now back on their feet and enjoying sport again.

In North Yorkshire, Sammy Wills and the team are preparing to fly a patient about to break a record.

-I've never had so much attention in all my life.

-You deserve it.

At 90, Joan Currington is about to become Helimed 99's oldest patient

after she collapsed in her remote moorland home.

There's no mains water, gas or electricity and paramedics hitched a ride on a four-wheel drive car

to reach her along three miles of rough tracks.

Now Mrs Currington is being prepared for take-off. Sammy Wills loves elderly patients and you see why.

-Is there anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable?

-Give me a pillow.

-A pillow. Right, stand by.

-I'm gonna have to make a pillow for you.

-Oh, well...

-Mrs Currington, how does that feel?

-It's very painful.

-Let's just try you for a kick-off.

-That's all right.

You tell us if it... We'll try and keep it off your eyes.

We are going to be flying Mrs Currington to Harrogate.

It should take us about 13 minutes,

as opposed to 20 minutes just by Land Rover to get to the ambulance

and another 45 minutes by road.

This leaves the A&E crew available to answer any other emergency calls.

Mrs Currington hurt her head when she collapsed at home,

but the excitement of being flown to hospital has cheered her up.

-OK, Mrs Currington? Are you comfortable?

-Yes.

-OK...

-HIGH-PITCHED RADIO FEEDBACK

-We'll be about ten minutes. You enjoy the view.

-Yes.

-Like a nice sort of living room. I could go to sleep.

-You're welcome to have a snooze.

How fast are we going?

-I'll ask the pilot. Hold on. Steve...

-Hello.

-What is the exact ground speed at the moment?

We're doing 130 knots which is about 150 miles an hour.

About 150 miles an hour.

-Well, it feels nice and slow.

-It feels slow?

Helimed 99's job is to fly patients suffering from serious trauma or illness to hospital quickly.

But Mrs Currington's unique situation earned her a first-class flight to medical care.

Sammy knows the helicopter is the only real way to return her home.

And the NHS is unlikely to pay for that.

HIGH-PITCHED FEEDBACK DROWNS OUT SPEECH

We're going to land on the Stray at Harrogate.

Helimed 99 is heading for Harrogate Stray, a public park owned by the crown next to the local hospital.

The Air Ambulance is in exclusive company, being able to land here.

Only the Queen and yourself are allowed to land there.

-It's true. Yeah.

-That's great.

I wonder whether she's landed there recently?

Harrogate, we're about to land.

We're just coming over the hospital now.

-Which one?

-Harrogate.

-Oh, yes, of course.

-There you go.

-There are some lads playing football.

-Isn't it beautiful?

-It's the first time I've been in a helicopter.

-Fantastic. I'm glad you had the chance to fly with us.

-Would you do it again?

-Good. Good.

-Marvellous.

< You let me come without a handbag!

Oh, my apologies! But I have brought your mobile phone and your medication.

-OK?

-Good, good, good.

Mrs Currington will undergo tests to determine why she collapsed,

but there's a real chance, after 40 years, that she's seen her moorland home for the last time.

Two weeks later, an elderly Land Rover, with an elderly passenger,

is making the long climb up the fells to Mrs Currington's home.

It's a journey her neighbours thought she'd never make again,

but against medical advice and the better judgment of her family,

the redoubtable Mrs Currington is coming home at last.

Mrs Currington was determined to return home, despite not having any running water or normal electricity.

She just lives with one generator.

It's a rotten day to come home, isn't it, really? The weather's been pretty good.

She could have gone to a retirement home with hot water and heating.

Instead, Mrs Currington prefers her old coal-fired Aga.

And with views like this, who can blame her?

It's really beautiful.

Do you think hospitals can be what they used to be? I don't know what they used to be.

Well, it was...not pleasant.

But a week later, Mrs Currington's home is again locked up.

Once again, its owner has collapsed. And this time, it's clear why.

Her old-fashioned heating system has almost cost her life.

I was really surprised that Mrs Currington, a week later, ended up going back into hospital,

this time with carbon monoxide poisoning, a silent killer,

something you can't see, smell or taste, and it made her poorly.

'After Mrs Currington was taken to hospital the second time,

'unfortunately, her condition did deteriorate and she passed away.

'The family took great comfort in the fact that she was 90 years old,

'she'd had a wonderful life, her home was beautiful

'and had remained there up to the last few weeks of her life.'

Mrs Currington was an outstanding character. I'm grateful to meet her.

I wish I'd had a good chat to her. She'd got an amazing history.

That's all from Helicopter Heroes, but when we come back, a man is crushed between two trucks.

-And he's just stopped breathing.

-Drop them hinges as fast as you can!

A visitor to one of the UK's biggest caves is knocked out by a falling rock.

Just hit her on the head and she collapsed.

This teenage rider has been thrown and crushed by her horse.

It hurts. I can't really feel them.

And the team are scrambled to a tree surgeon who has come down to earth the hard way.

He fell from the top of that ladder.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2008

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