Episode 15 Helicopter Heroes

If you're critically ill or seriously injured in a place like this,

there's only one thing that can save you, and that's speed.

It doesn't matter where you are, this helicopter, with trained pilots and paramedics,

will fly to your rescue at two-and-a-half-miles a minute.

These are Yorkshire's Helicopter Heroes.

When the people of Britain's biggest county dial 999,

there's a good chance help will come from the skies.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is ready to scramble 365 days a year,

and each one brings a new life-or-death emergency.

Today on Helicopter Heroes, a major road accident

paralyses a village, but one victim can only think of others.

-How is the other guy?

-The trouble is he's stuck in the cab.

A driver is crushed by his own runaway truck.

He's been dragged quite a way down the road.

Can I just have a little listen of your tummy?

A little boy falls six foot on a day out at gran's.

And the unsung heroes who help the Helimed team save lives.

The UK has thousands of road ambulances on standby 24 hours a day,

but helicopters are just too expensive to have dozens waiting around.

Yorkshire has five million people,

but just two air ambulances.

When there's a serious accident with multiple casualties,

the Helimed fleet comes into its own.

In East Yorkshire, a small village has been brought to a standstill.

There's been a head-on smash between a minibus and a car transporter

on the main road through the village.

The minibus has gone into the path of the transporter.

There's been a collision and that's put the transporter off the road

into the garden wall that you can see behind me now.

The transporter has narrowly missed a row of terraced houses,

and amongst the twisted metal and collapsed garden walls,

the two drivers are seriously injured.

With numerous witnesses to the accident,

999 calls are flooding in and Helimed 99 is quickly scrambled.

With the nearest hospital over 20 miles away, the decision's

made to also send Helimed 98 from its base in Sheffield.

ETA between 15 and 18 minutes, over.

Our other helicopter has been dispatched about 15 minutes ago.

Those on the scene have requested two helicopters to be in attendance.

We've got a 15 minute transit. We've heard from our other air ambulance

to say there are two patients and the one that we're going to be

taking is still trapped in the car transporter.

With Helimed 98 still speeding north, Helimed 99 paramedics Lee Davison and Colin Jones

are the first to arrive in the village of Holme On Spalding Moor.

-This is Mark.

-How are we doing, chief?

He was driving this Mercedes here.

Quite a devastating impact with the transporter.

A lot of frontal-end damage, so obviously potential for fractures and head injuries, things like that.

We've got to keep an eye on the patients -

we'll try and get the other aircraft here as quick as we can.

Ground paramedics found minibus driver Mark in the middle of the road,

but it's a mystery how he got there,

and one that paramedic Colin needs to solve quickly.

How did you actually end up on here?

-He doesn't remember.

-No idea at all?

Witnesses say he was thrown out of the driver's seat

and into the path of the car transporter.

If he's been hit by the lorry, his head injury could be very serious.

Just take a really deep breath for me.

-Does that feel all right?

-Yeah.

OK. And again.

Motorists thrown from their vehicle usually don't survive the impact,

and Mark's been lucky he wasn't crushed by the minibus.

His head is bleeding badly, but that's not his most worrying symptom.

He was unconscious for five minutes

and can't remember anything about the accident.

I've given him some morphine. We'll also give him a drug that...

The morphine can make you feel a bit sick, so we'll give him a drug that actually takes that sickness off.

Mark's badly hurt, but all he can think about is the other driver involved in the accident.

-How is the other guy?

-The other guy?

Erm...he's bruised and battered,

but the trouble is he's stuck in the cab.

Meanwhile, Lee has started to examine the driver of the car transporter.

Although both vehicles were travelling at low speed,

the fully-loaded transporter weighs nearly ten tonnes,

and it's collided head-on with the garden wall.

1,000 feet up, Helimed 98 is quickly bearing down on the village.

Helimed 98, we're just approaching the scene from air.

The crew will have the job of freeing the driver of the car transporter from his crushed cab.

But there's increasing concern for minibus driver Mark.

-It's a little bit sore.

-Where is it sore the most?

-Just in my back.

-In your back?

-Yeah.

-Right, okey dokey.

We'll try not to drop you. OK, so we're going that way.

At the roadside there's only so much Colin and Lee can do apart from monitor Mark's condition,

and get him to hospital as fast as possible.

Right, if we can lift it as high as we can.

Don't actually put the weight on it until you're well and truly in.

Mark's head and back injuries mean he gets the first Helimed seat,

but the other driver won't have long to wait.

This is only the second time Helimed 98 and Helimed 99

have been sent to the same accident scene.

Both drivers have received the top treatment the Ambulance Service can offer.

Now they need the best hospital care the NHS can provide.

Coming up, the battle to free the trapped driver begins.

I'm going to get your left leg out.

And then we're going to drop you that way, flat onto the passenger seat.

A little boy takes a tumble, and the paramedics

-are worried.

-CHILD CRIES

Hold on! There you are, nanny got you.

And the day a Satan's Slave became a good Samaritan.

Dealing with a road accident is a pretty dangerous job,

and that's why members of the emergency services

make sure passing motorists see them by wearing one of these.

But some roadside risks are less predictable, but just as deadly.

Sometimes the Helimed team instinctively know their lifesaving skills are needed.

A male has been trapped under a lorry.

Imagine being dragged hundreds of yards down a hill under a two-tonne lorry.

That's what happened to a car recovery driver

on the outskirts of Otley, just a few miles from Helimed HQ.

-He's just going to be over the hill here.

-OK.

They may be close by, but that doesn't mean this job will be any easier to spot from the air.

It's got to be down here somewhere, hasn't it?

There's an ambulance behind us, Tim.

-Yeah.

-Going uphill there.

-Yeah.

The ambulance has stopped.

Stopped on road there, mate.

-Yeah, there's a responder there, as well.

-Ah.

All pilot Tim has to do now is find a flat place to land

and that's not going to be easy on the side of a hill.

-This is not flat at all.

-No.

This is a risky business.

Helicopters can and do tip over on landing...

Just pop your door, Pete, will you, see if that's...?

That's looking good this side.

..sometimes with fatal results.

Down flat, yeah.

Paramedic Pete Vallance has over 20 years' experience

and knows he's about to face some serious injuries.

Hi, gents.

-How we doing? You're all right?

-The chap has got the...

It's rolled back on to his knee, as you can see here.

-He's rolled down the road a little bit.

-Right.

-No pain anywhere else other than in his lower leg.

-Yeah.

No loss of consciousness.

We think the handbrake may not have been applied as sufficiently as it should have been.

The wagon's begun

rolling down the hill and he's attempted to jump in the cab,

and in doing so has slipped under the vehicle,

and has been dragged quite a way down the road by his legs.

To Pete's surprise, his patient, Geoff,

is sat up and chatting to medics,

but his apparent calmness disguises the fact he's got a very serious leg injury

and is still stuck underneath his breakdown truck.

The main problem is his leg injury and it has been trapped under the vehicle.

We've got to relieve his pain before we can extricate him. There are plenty of assets,

so hopefully, it's not such a big job, but it's quite a nasty injury.

Local fire crews are arriving in force to help the medics

free Geoff's trapped leg. He's lost a lot of blood

and his blood pressure is now dangerously low.

Despite Geoff's capacity to cope with the pain and his relative calmness,

paramedics Pete and Darren know that both the medical team and the fire crews must work quickly

to free their patient before his condition deteriorates.

We'll put the airbags underneath just to lift it up a touch, if we need to -

just to give them a bit more space to actually move him out, you know what I mean?

With the wheels chocked and airbags carefully positioned, the team begin to lift the recovery truck.

-We're going to move your legs.

-All right.

-All right.

Can we get two firefighters here just to give him a hand?

We're going to pull him out on the slide bag.

Just relax. If it hurts, tell us.

-On three. One, two, three.

-That'll do.

-Is that hurting?

-No, no.

-No, you're all right?

At last he's free,

and Darren and Pete can assess the full extent of his injuries.

His leg's been crushed between the wheel and road.

The bone is broken,

and the muscles of his lower leg have been torn apart.

Worst of all, his knee's been shattered.

He's got quite a severe leg injury involving his knee,

which is nearly sort of a third of the way round

the circumference of the joint itself, which is exposed,

also possibly fractured inside, so we need to be as careful as we can.

Geoff runs his own breakdown firm and needs to be mobile.

But his injury is so severe that Pete and Darren are unsure

whether he'll ever be able to walk on his injured leg again.

Geoff faces a long fight to regain the use of his leg.

His livelihood depends on it.

Coming up, the breakdown man is freed, but his crushed leg

could still cost him his life.

It's obviously just worn away at his leg.

A second chopper races to help a trucker trapped in his cab.

And the mates who saved a runner's life.

The guys who are with him

have been first-aid aware and got their friend back.

When you have family living in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales,

a stay with relatives can be just like a holiday,

but there are dangers,

especially for visitors more used to life in town.

Helimed 99 is heading up into some of the North's most rugged landscapes.

Towering more than 2,000 feet over the market town of Ingleton

are Yorkshire's three peaks,

Whernside, Ingleborough and the forbidding Pen-y-ghent,

a huge slab of limestone that's a summer playground for outdoor enthusiasts,

but in the valley below, playtime has gone badly wrong

for a little boy staying with his gran.

We've got a two-year-old child who's fallen off a wall,

we believe he sustained a head injury

and is in and out of consciousness.

There is a land crew with the patient -

they requested the air support unit.

We're going to have a trip across there and see if we can help out with the crew.

Radar, Helimed 99 Alpha.

Ex-Army pilot JJ Smith has flown helicopters

all over the world, from the forests of Norway

to the mountains of Afghanistan, but these hills demand respect.

They're notorious for sudden updraughts and unpredictable weather.

Wha-hey! This could be bumpy.

Paramedics Pat and Sammy know their job won't be easy today either.

Treating children can't be taken lightly.

Children can be quite hard to assess.

Often they're upset anyway.

You can't tell whether they're crying because they're upset

or they're injured.

They need to be able to tell you where they're hurting.

Often we're dealing with two people -

Mum or the relative, whoever was caring for them,

is upset as well that the accident has happened.

The market town of Ingleton has a local ambulance station,

but the road journey from here

to the nearest hospital in Lancashire, the next county,

can be long and difficult.

Two-year-old Bob is about to become one of the team's youngest ever patients.

He's landed headfirst after falling off a six-foot garden wall while visiting his grandparents.

Paramedics Sammy and Pat know it's critical that Bob gets to hospital quickly.

Children can deteriorate very fast.

But there's just enough time for Sammy to do some revision.

We use this aide memoire. It's broken down into ages,

so I've already looked up the two-year-old.

It has their normal parameters, and then has all their drug dosages.

It's an excellent guide,

and in a moment of stress when you're trying to help a young child

just to double-check your dosages is always a good idea.

-I have visual at 12 o'clock.

-OK, check doors and harnesses, please.

The stone cottages of the Dales provide few problems for pilot JJ Smith.

They often come with large back gardens,

and he can land the helicopter close to their young patient.

-Hello, little Bob. How are you doing?

-He's very, very drowsy.

-Yeah. Are you all right holding him in line there?

-Yeah.

Great. Hello, Bob. Is this Mam?

-Nan.

-Nan. Hiya, Nan.

Bob's nan is upset, but hiding it.

She'd only turned her back for a moment,

and Bob had been warned not to leave the garden.

Sammy must calm the two-year-old down to assess his injuries.

BOB CRIES

Can I just have a little listen of your tummy?

Where is it? Is it underneath there? Thanks, Nan.

Most parents will probably have joked that children bounce,

but falls from this height can be fatal.

Sammy's looking for any signs of a skull fracture, spinal injury

or brain haemorrhage.

Can I have a little feel of your tummy?

Oh, is that tickling? There we go, then.

-You have your spaceman mask to make you feel better.

-Oh, look at this!

This will make you feel better.

Treating children is a real skill for any paramedic.

Drug doses have to be carefully calculated,

and Bob's level of consciousness must be monitored closely

to stop him falling asleep.

-BOB CRIES

-All right, darling.

-That's it.

There we go. All done.

Most distressing of all,

he must wear a hard collar until they know he hasn't broken his neck.

BOB CRIES

The Dales may be a beautiful and secluded place to live,

but that also means that Bob's miles from the hospital treatment he desperately needs.

Good boy.

Are you going to come for a ride with me in my helicopter?

BOB CRIES It's all right, I'm not going anywhere.

It's all right, Nanny's coming.

It's a frightening prospect for a two-year-old to face,

but a flight in Helimed 99 might save Bob's life.

We're going to get you in the aircraft now. Nanny's with you.

Hello. It's me again!

That's it.

Nanny?

Lancaster Hospital is just 10 minutes away by air,

and Bob's grandma will be with him all the way.

It's a... It's a great height for a two-year-old to fall,

so we're just a little bit concerned about the child.

We're just been erring on the side of precaution, really.

Just half an hour ago, Bob was playing on the swings with his sister,

now he's strapped tightly into a helicopter and 1,000 feet up.

-Did he go blue around the lips at all?

-No, he didn't change.

-Just very pale and very cold and...

-Clammy.

-Clammy.

The windsock on the roof opposite you.

-The helipad to the left.

-Yeah.

-OK, happy.

Just a few minutes later,

Lancaster Hospital, with two very worried parents inside,

comes into view.

OK, Nanny. We're down on the ground. We're just going to stop the blades,

and then there will be a team, and we'll take Bob with us.

OK. Yeah. One, two, three, lift.

Bob's in an exclusive club.

Very few toddlers have ever flown in Helimed 99,

but everyone is more concerned about his condition.

Only a brain scan and a thorough examination in A&E

will determine whether Bob will make a full recovery.

Bob, our two-year-old is now in resus and he doesn't look very well.

He's laid there quite limp.

I like it when kids are more upset and crying and clingy.

It could mean that there's something quite serious going on,

so they're carrying on the care.

Sammy needn't have worried.

Just a week later, and back home in Lancaster, Bob is back on his feet

doing what two-year-olds do best, tiring out Mum.

Not that she's complaining.

Surviving a six-foot fall with no serious injury

is better news than anyone could have expected.

When I saw him on that stretcher, it was like this little tiny body,

this great big stretcher... I cried.

I cried a lot! SHE LAUGHS

But as soon as he got out of that neck brace, that was it.

He was back to himself. He was great.

It was a good feeling. I want to cry with happiness now!

And the next time Bob goes to spend a day in the Dales,

Gran's back garden definitely won't be his playground.

Coming up, a breakdown man may never walk again,

unless doctors can repair his knee.

I've lost part of my knee and the surrounding flesh.

And the day a first-aid class helped save a life.

Within two minutes of commencing CPR, he came round.

Now, let's return to the village in East Yorkshire,

where a major collision has left two drivers fighting for their lives.

In the centre of a small village in the Yorkshire Wolds, a head-on smash

between a minibus and a car transporter has sparked

a major emergency operation involving the Fire Brigade, police

and both helicopters from the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

In the impact, minibus driver Mark was thrown out of his seat and into the road.

He survived a situation that often proves fatal,

but he sustained head and back injuries.

We're coming in with a 40-year-old - that's four zero - male, GCS 15.

Head injuries and lower back pain, over.

As the crew of Helimed 99 prepare Mark for his emergency flight to hospital,

their colleagues from Helimed 98 arrive to help the driver of the car transporter.

I'll leave him with you. We're going to York, which I've said.

Ten tonnes take some stopping,

even at relatively low speeds, and the driver has only just avoided

a row of terraced houses, but the collision with the garden wall

has left him trapped under the dashboard.

You've got some pain in your tummy?

Is that above your belly button or below, would you say?

All around there.

All right, pal.

Paramedics Lee Gray and Paul Bradbury

often see lorry drivers in situations like this.

A frontal impact causes the steering wheel to pin the driver to his seat,

which can cause internal injuries to the stomach, liver and abdomen.

But Lee can't examine him properly, until he's out of his wrecked vehicle.

This gentleman will stay behind you and hold on to your neck

and we'll slide a board under your bottom.

We'll get your left leg out, and we'll drop you flat on to the passenger seat

-on to a board that we're going to pull you out from that way. Is that all right?

-Yeah.

-Good man.

No-one in the village of Home On Spalding Moor

can remember seeing a smash like this before.

In Helimed 99, the crew have stabilised Mark

and quickly leave the carnage behind.

He's stable. He's in quite a lot of pain in his lower back,

which would suggest

some sort of spinal injury.

And in just 15 minutes,

they'll be handing Mark over to the waiting doctors

at York District Hospital.

Back on the ground, Lee and Paul are still working out

how to remove the driver of the transporter.

Just keep nice and still.

No, I'm not going to touch that leg.

I just want to keep hold of your neck.

Whiplash is the most common injury sustained by drivers involved in car crashes.

You all right, firefighter up there,

keeping his neck? Because I'm going to look after this right tib and fib.

Lee and Paul know this driver's neck and spine could be badly damaged.

All right, nice and steady.

Let's just try and get this...

If you come around here, let me swap.

It's been a big day for East Yorkshire's emergency services

that help to cover nearly 1000 square miles,

and this is the last test that they'll face.

With Paul directing inside the cab, and with a little careful manoeuvring from the Fire Brigade,

the driver has moved into a position

where the team can immobilise his neck and back.

Just watch him back all the way, lads.

Professional drivers spend more time on the road than anybody else,

but this driver must be feeling more relieved than ever

to get out of his cab.

He's had the full dose of morphine, but he's still in pain.

Open your eyes for me nice and wide.

Good man. And take a nice deep breath now we've got you out.

Good, deep breath in, and out.

Good man. No new pain anywhere? How is that pain in your belly?

Is it all right? Or getting better or worse, eh?

-The same.

-Just the same. Good man.

I'll keep tormenting you until you talk to me, all right?

While Mark in Helimed 99 is landing at York District Hospital,

and only minutes away from receiving life-saving hospital treatment,

the driver of the car transporter is still over 20 miles away.

Coming up, hospital doctors prepare to treat

two casualties from the same crash.

It's nice we can get together, but not always nice for the patients.

And the walkers who were well-prepared for an accident

down to six layers of bandage.

When you're self-employed, you rely on being fit enough to do your job,

but what happens when a small businessman can't walk?

In West Yorkshire, the owner of a recovery business

finds himself in that terrible position.

On a road outside the town of Otley in West Yorkshire,

breakdown recovery driver Geoff

has been dragged down a steep hill underneath his truck.

Fire crews have managed to lift the truck, allowing Helimed 99

paramedics Pete Vallance and Darren Axe to free Geoff's injured leg and assess the damage.

It's not good news.

He's got quite a severe leg injury to his right leg involving the knee.

It's worn down to the bone

for at least one third of the circumference,

and possibly fractured as well underneath.

Pete and Darren know the chances of Geoff making a full recovery are slim.

His leg has been crushed and is badly broken,

but if he's to stand any chance of walking on the injured leg again,

the team must get him to the expert team of orthopaedic surgeons

at the Leeds General Infirmary.

-How is my leg?

-You've made a mess of it...

-We're looking after you.

-..because you've dragged it.

-Have I?

Yeah, it's dragged it down road, so...

You're going to the right place anyway, all right?

Despite the slope, pilot Tim managed to land next to the incident,

but this is a graphic example of the dangers the crew face on a daily basis.

When the blades are spinning,

you can't really see, but now they've shut down,

you can appreciate how low they get,

so it makes it very dangerous operating here.

Fortunately, taking off from a makeshift helipad

on the side of a hill is a lot easier than landing on one.

Leeds Tower, Helimed 98 Alpha.

VOICE OVER RADIO

Both Darren and Pete know their patient has been lucky to survive

being dragged underneath a two-tonne truck,

but his leg injury is one of the most serious they've ever seen,

and the hard work's not over for Darren.

He's got to help pilot Tim

navigate the huge cranes scattered across the centre of Leeds.

Mate, with got that big red crane there.

-Yeah, visual.

-OK.

There's a couple of new white ones which are in and around it as well.

The team land on the roof of the LGI just in time

as Geoff's huge pain threshold begins to reduce.

Are you all right, Geoff?

The pain's getting a bit strong.

Is it? We'll get you some pain relief when we get down.

I'm not going to give you any at this moment, but we'll give you some as soon as we get down.

Geoff's journey from roadside to resus is almost over.

-It's just, like, stinging. You know, stinging and throbbing.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

A team of doctors, nurses and orthopaedic surgeons

have been waiting for the Helimed team and their patient.

Geoff now faces a series of tests,

and an agonising wait to discover the full extent of his injury.

It's a really, really nasty leg injury.

This guy's been dragged underneath

at least three tonnes of wagon for a substantial distance,

and it's obviously just...

worn away at his leg, because that's the part that was trapped underneath.

It will be an overall examination with lots of different departments being involved.

They'll obviously get imaging and X-rays of this.

I would probably estimate that he'll be on his way to surgery

at some point shortly.

This is what Geoff faces for at least the next 12 months -

regular visits to the dressings clinic and intensive rehabilitation.

I lost part of my knee,

the surrounding flesh, skin.

And they've took the calf muscle out and rebuilt my knee with it,

took a skin graft from that leg to cover that one.

The injury was so serious,

doctors had to completely rebuild Geoff's knee,

one of the most complicated parts of the body.

It's two weeks since the accident, and the long road to recovery

has started, both physically and emotionally.

I knew I'd hurt my leg, but not to this extent, no.

I reversed the vehicle into the back of my truck

and my truck just start rolling slowly.

So I opened the car door, jumped out on to the road,

but the car door hit me on my back and knocked me to the floor.

And then my leg went under the back of the truck,

and it just dragged me. I was dragged. I just...

It took me for about 100, 200 yards down the hill

until some public stopped the vehicle.

I've family and friends working and driving for me,

so all that's sorted now.

It's just trying to get some sleep now at night. I've not slept for two and a bit weeks.

Try and get things out of my mind that are going through it.

Just... Just time now. We'll see.

Coming up, doctors begin treating two victims of a major road crash.

How would you react if someone had a serious accident or a heart attack

and you were the only one there to help?

Every day a few of us find out and what we do often means the difference between life and death.

Sheffield has a population of over a million and a reputation as a massive industrial city.

But the city centre is surrounded by hillsides and countryside

and Sheffield has more trees per person than any other European city.

Helimed 98 is on its way to the South Yorkshire Forest

to an injured mountain biker caught out by a terrifying steep hill.

There is somebody down near the track.

-Yeah.

-That looks like it, mate. Yeah.

Wharnecliffe Woods are some of the most technically difficult downhill bike tracks around.

Hardcore rides for experienced bikers.

And David Clark has taken on too much.

He's not a very experienced mountain biker, but we're here for the weekend just having some fun and we

probably chosen a trail that's a bit too serious. He didn't have a bike with any suspension and...

But he's a bit nuts and so he just threw himself down it.

But, yeah, he's come off and he's gone over his ankle

and the bikes come after it and he's just gone straight over...

Straight over his ankle.

There's nowhere for Helimed 98 to land near to the mountain biker,

so pilot Craig Redmon has to put the chopper down at the edge of the forest.

OK, you're securely down right rear now. Securely down.

But it's a long way to the patient in the middle of the woods, so paramedics Paul Bradbury

and Lee Gray grab a lift from a local with a handy four wheel-drive.

I understand why you haven't got a Ford Fiesta now round here.

I don't think it would do it, would it? Oh, no.

Their driver, Greg Hughes, knows all these tracks.

It turns out he lives in the forest.

I just sort of live here and the ambulance just came and we just...

We do this. We pick up old ladies that we find wandering in the woods.

Dave's rescuer is a member of the Satan's Slaves biker gang.

He may look unconventional, but it turns out he and his biker mates are

big Air Ambulance supporters.

It's the first time I've seen it in action. Well worth it.

-Hiya, mate. All right?

-How are you doing, all right?

I came down the slope,

went over the bars a bit...

The handlebars kind of...

I thought I was going to be fine, but then the bike got caught up with my leg.

-All right, so yeah...

-One, just on his shoulder.

Dave's nearly a mile from the helicopter.

I wish it were a bit steeper!

And he'd be surprised by the unsung hero who's about to give him a lift, if it wasn't for the gas and air.

Yeah, it's OK. They've all been very good, haven't you?

-Yeah.

-Don't make me say it.

The pain relief is being provided by 50% oxygen, 50% laughing gas.

Is it time for my close up?

And the laughing gas bit has been particularly effective.

If you've a preferred route, please notify the driver at the start of the journey.

Who's stuck that up there?

Yeah.

Bit of a trek, yeah. I think we crossed every type of terrain going, there.

Thanks to this young man over here, I don't know if I've ever been down a steeper hill in a car.

He's, thankfully, not got too serious an injury, so he's

quite comfortable and the laughing gas has obviously taken effect quite well in between screams.

To me, to you.

So, with a final thank you to his unsung hero, Glenn...

Thanks, mate.

Dave is off to hospital and a repair job on his smashed-up ankle.

Fell running is very popular.

Every weekend, hundreds of superfit take to the Yorkshire Fells.

They run up the peaks and down again and, looking at the views, I can see the attraction, but if you're in the

middle of nowhere and you suffer a heart attack, you'd better hope your running mates know what to do.

With just a few details on a screen to go on, the Helimed crew are going to answer this emergency call.

Everything indicates it's serious.

A fell runner has had a heart attack.

The location is so close to the airport, pilot Tim has to constantly check in.

He's bang in the middle of the flight path for incoming jets.

Leeds Tower, Helimed 98 Alpha. We're still airborne about five miles west of the field.

Still looking for the patient.

'Helimed 98 Alpha, that's no problem.'

As they leave the urban sprawl of Leeds, the landscape very quickly opens up.

It's a hot day and these are steep hills.

That's that reservoir there, look.

The one on the right is that one there. So, we're left of it, so it's right over where we are.

But no matter how fit you are, a heart attack can hit you at any time.

98, Air Desk, we've found it, over.

Super fit 64-year-old Bill Padgett was 11 miles into his run when he collapsed.

A local land ambulance paramedic got there first.

It's become clear that Bill's running buddies have saved his life.

People that were running with him did say that they actually

had performed CPR on the gentleman, that he did go blue, that he had

stopped breathing and he didn't have a pulse.

Within two minutes of commencing CPR, he came back round.

Knowing what to do in a crisis like this is the key.

They call it effective CPR, chest compression to keep someone alive

until paramedics with life-saving drugs and more sophisticated equipment can take over.

And that's exactly what these guys, members of the Bingley Harriers Running Club, have done.

What has happened is they've got...

The guys who were with him have been first aid aware, realised what's

happened, got early intervention with the chest compressions, some mouth to mouth and have got their friend back.

And at the moment he's currently...

He's obviously critical because of what's happened, but he's stable,

so we're going to fly him to LGI which is a couple of minutes away.

Bill owes his life to his mates and he'll soon get the chance to say thanks.

Within a few days he was out of Leeds General Infirmary and is now even planning to resume running.

Now, the Air Ambulance has some of the most sophisticated navigational gear going, but very occasionally

the Helimed team need a bit of extra help to find their patient, especially in a place like this.

Are you actually on a path between the Scar House Reservoir and Niddersmore?

Right, OK.

Nidderdale Way?

I've got a feeling it's up here somewhere.

Scar House Reservoir is a remote beauty spot in Nidderdale that keeps

the taps of Bradford running, but today it's the scene of an accident involving a rambler.

Helimed 99's job is to find her, but that's more easily said than done.

We're on the Nidderdale Way. We're running down to the other side, yeah.

Having someone resourceful with you when you have an accident

can save your life and that's what's happened today.

Paramedic Daz uses the satellite phone to ring the rambler who first dialled 999.

And the Helimed team get a talk down that wouldn't disgrace Air Traffic Control.

Helimed 99 Alpha is about to let down.

If you want me to knock it down, I will!

-Hi, sweetheart.

-Hello.

How are you doing, not so good?

Brenda Lofthouse fell over on the path.

She crashed forward and banged her head.

It's so easily done, this sort of thing

and you feel such a fool bringing out ambulances and things like that, but the gash was such that we felt that

after about six layers of bandage and the blood still coming through you get a bit nervous, sort of thing.

With that in mind

we fortunately got an Air Ambulance and here we are.

And it turns out husband Dave is the hero of the hour,

along with some vintage mobile technology.

Right, youths they would laugh their cotton socks off at that, but I'm pleased I had that today.

Quite amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Brenda's friends and some passing mountain bikers have done all the hard work on this job.

They've stemmed the blood from the head injury and bandaged Brenda's wounds.

Now the wall, designed to keep sheep in and helicopters out.

-Right, this is going to be fun.

-Aye.

While Brenda's husband takes the long road home...

She'll get concerned, but she's tough.

I think the expression is a 'tough old bird'.

Her walking friend Jean is getting a lift with the helicopter.

Now I'm up here, I know why you didn't see us,

but when you're down there you think, hey, come on, we're waving,

you can see us.

And is making the most of her once in a lifetime flight.

Tell me, are we be going over Hangthwaite at any time or not?

Yes.

Yes, probably in about the next minute.

Well, tell me will you, please, because my mum and dad live there?

Just wave at them, they'll know.

The trip to Harrogate takes only minutes at 150 miles an hour and

in a straight line, and Brenda is on her way to A&E to have some stitches and some headache tablets.

Will you catch me when I'm looking better next time?

And thanks to those unsung heroes, all our patients are on the mend.

Now, let's catch up with the road smash so serious, all the available choppers were scrambled.

The residents of Holme On Spalding Moor in East Yorkshire are still in shock after a head-on crash

in the centre of the village and a rescue operation involving both Yorkshire Air Ambulance helicopters.

Thanks to Helimed 99 the minibus driver, Mark Morris,

is being handed over to the doctors at York District Hospital,

but back at the scene of the accident, the crew of Helimed 98

are preparing the driver of the car transporter for his emergency flight to hospital.

Roger, Chris, will be taking off in the next two minutes, over.

And there's increasing concern about his condition.

It could be potentially serious injuries that he's got

given the force that he's hit the wall with.

Road accidents cost the country £16 billion a year.

Helimed 98 is leaving this clean-up operation behind and heading for York.

We've just carried on his pain relief, which is the

biggest thing at the moment, just to keep his heart rate nice and low.

Mediaeval York attracts nearly four million tourists a year and is one

of the most congested cities in the country, but when you're dropping in from 500 feet, that's not a problem.

Colin's gone with our patient with the first ambulance crew, and the second one is just unloading now.

Where we were, up there, it would be a good 40 minutes, 45 minutes

for a crew to run into York District,

which it's taken us about six minutes to come from there, so it's obviously very quick.

It's nice we can both get together, but not always nice for the patients.

Despite his condition worrying the Helimed team, the driver of the car transporter escaped

without any serious injuries, but minibus driver Mark wasn't so lucky.

I broke a bone in the bottom of my back.

I had stitches inserted in my head,

in my hand and I bruised all my lung.

So, I feel pretty lucky, actually.

The doctors and nurses say it was actually the seatbelt that saved my life.

Although Mark was wearing a seatbelt, passers-by found him lying on the floor next to the minibus.

It's estimated nearly a quarter of all fatal car

crashes involve someone being thrown from the vehicle and Mark knows he's beaten the odds.

I remember seeing it coming towards me and it just seemed to be slow motion, just waiting for the impact.

I do feel pretty lucky to be alive.

-How is the other guy?

-The other guy?

Despite lying injured and in pain on the ground, Mark only had one thing on his mind.

I remember asking the police officer, anyone else involved?

And he said, yeah, the other driver, he's trapped in the cab.

And I kept thinking, I hope he's OK.

And he's got a new found respect for his flying rescuers.

I think they've done an amazing job.

They put their lives on the line, as well.

They go into difficult situations,

so I think they deserve a lot of credit.

When Helicopter Heroes comes back,

a child's knocked down in an army town and Helimed 99 swoops to the rescue.

'You must not go any further left.'

A 120-mile mercy mission is a dying transplant patient's only hope of survival.

I've got a good feeling about this one.

The team are called to a Scout camp after an accident on a rope swing.

And an off duty paramedic becomes the hero of a nasty bike accident.

I knew something had happened, so I just stopped to see what was going on.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd