0:00:04 > 0:00:08If you're seriously ill or critically injured, every second counts.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Especially if you're up high or off the beaten track.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15But thanks to these guys, the people of the UK's
0:00:15 > 0:00:19biggest county are never more than ten minutes away from a hospital.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23The Yorkshire Air Ambulance can do 150 miles an hour
0:00:23 > 0:00:25and every day brings a new life-or-death emergency.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50The big freeze has hit the UK.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53The emergency services are stretched to the limit.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56And every day Yorkshire's two air ambulances are scrambled
0:00:56 > 0:01:00to rescue people critically ill or seriously injured in the snow.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06Today on Helicopter Heroes:
0:01:06 > 0:01:13A sledging accident leaves a man seriously injured and the Helimed team are forced to become inventive.
0:01:13 > 0:01:18He just hit the telegraph pole, he couldn't get out of the dinghy when it come to a stop.
0:01:18 > 0:01:23There's a difficult seaside rescue, as icy roads leave a fishing village marooned.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26The chopper's stranded in a moorland blizzard.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28That's not a good idea, we'll stay here.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33And a tree saves a lorry driver's life, but he's not out of woods yet.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37If it wasn't for them trees, he'd have been going for a swim.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47The freezing weather of January 2010
0:01:47 > 0:01:51made Met Office records for all the wrong reasons.
0:01:51 > 0:01:57Most of the UK shivered as many places suffered their worst winter for 30 years and there
0:01:57 > 0:02:04was no shortage of this stuff, which meant long hours and hard work for the Ambulance Service.
0:02:05 > 0:02:12Arctic weather straight from Siberia has brought the worst winter in three decades to the UK.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17And at Helimed HQ they are ploughing the apron the team need to take off.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19But some people are enjoying it,
0:02:19 > 0:02:24suddenly Yorkshire's developed a passion for winter sports.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Ah, Terrington...
0:02:27 > 0:02:31But the crew of Helimed 99 are there to pick up the pieces when it all goes wrong.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34It's come down a hill there, into a telegraph pole.
0:02:34 > 0:02:41Look out for a 20-plus year old male whose gone down the bank on a sledge
0:02:41 > 0:02:43and struck a telegraph pole at the bottom.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46There'll only be one winner in that one.
0:02:46 > 0:02:51They might as well be in a car smash as on a sledge, because when you hit something, it hurts just as much.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55Paramedic Glen Powell knows more about sledging accidents than most.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57HE LAUGHS I've had it.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Don't show them your injury.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04I had a wrist injury as a result of a sledging accident with my son.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07I must say I was encouraged to go faster and faster by my son.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09It was nothing to do with me.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12The heavy blanket of snow over the North York Moors
0:03:12 > 0:03:15is making it difficult to find the injured sledger.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19There's a quad bike down there.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22There does seem to be a flurry of people there.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25I can't make out if there is any ambulance people down there.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27Casualty's over there...
0:03:29 > 0:03:33There's somebody stood with both his arms up, waving you in at the top of the hill.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36The top of the hill was the only safe place to touch down.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41But it's going to be a long and difficult trek to the victim, who's stuck at the bottom.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Field's solid. That'll do. Ish!
0:03:48 > 0:03:53- Where is he?- 'It's the Helimed team's lucky day, a man on a quad bike has come to the rescue.'
0:03:53 > 0:03:55- Can I get on the back of that with you?- Yeah.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Hitching a lift to a patient is unusual,
0:03:58 > 0:04:03but when the snow falls, paramedics have to make it up as they go along.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Glen's on his way...
0:04:06 > 0:04:13There's another surprise for Glen when he gets there, the patient has run aground in an inflatable dinghy.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16He's hit that telegraph as he's come down there.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20I just thought it was weird the way it caught his sort of left hip and...
0:04:20 > 0:04:26The shops had sold out of proper sledges, so 28-year-old Simon Batty was forced to improvise.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Now, he's paying the price.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31How fast were you going, were you hell for leather?
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Yeah, did somebody see it? Yeah. Straighten that leg for me.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39The ground paramedics suspect he has seriously damaged his chest and possibly broken his hip.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44This could mean there is internal bleeding, which is potentially life-threatening.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48That's really hurting you? OK. Did you hear anything go crack or 'owt?
0:04:48 > 0:04:51'Simon's sister was among the first to come to his rescue.'
0:04:51 > 0:04:53Just briefly, I'll pop it back on in a minute.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Obviously you've got obstacles, the telegraph pole,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59various bits and pieces, cattle troughs and things and
0:04:59 > 0:05:03he just hit the telegraph pole in the dinghy.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08The dinghy took quite a lot of the brunt, but then it's all ricocheted through his body and everything.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13Simon desperately needs hospital treatment, the Helimed 99 is
0:05:13 > 0:05:19half a mile away at the top of an ice-packed hill, along with Darren and all the medical equipment.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23The quad bike is brought back into action.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27Roger, bring a spinal board and flex along with you. Over.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31'Meanwhile Glen tries to get Simon's pain under control... It's not going to be easy.'
0:05:31 > 0:05:35We won't knock you out, but it might make you feel a bit woozy.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37The reinforcements arrive.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40They need to lift Simon onto a spinal board.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42The idea is just to keep his back as steady as you can.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46So if you put your hand in, Simon, and hold your other hand.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48OK. Lock them together.
0:05:48 > 0:05:49Ready, steady, lift.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Keep coming.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Back there. That will do.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Ready, steady, down.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00That's it. You can rest it now.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04- Is that better?- Now they can look more closely at his injured leg.
0:06:04 > 0:06:09Without an X-ray, they can't tell exactly what's wrong, but it looks serious.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11It's just deformed, isn't it?
0:06:11 > 0:06:14There is a slight deform there. There's something going on there.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17They've still got the problem of how to get Simon back up the hill.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22Glen's had an idea and once again it involves the quad bike.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25How do you feel about resting board on this...
0:06:25 > 0:06:31dinghy and towing with quad, using this as a sled?
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Yes, sound like a plan.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Does it? With enough of us round it, going slowly.
0:06:36 > 0:06:37Yes.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Simon, can you breathe all right with all this contraption on you?
0:06:41 > 0:06:44We're getting a nice warm sleeping bag for you.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50We've fastened him into this orange reflective blanket
0:06:50 > 0:06:54and wrapped him up a bit like a Christmas turkey to keep him warm.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57We've put him into the dinghy that he was in, we'll secure him into
0:06:57 > 0:07:01the dinghy and then we'll tow him with the quad bike back up the hill.
0:07:01 > 0:07:02Obviously it's treacherous underfoot.
0:07:02 > 0:07:07If we're holding him and we all fall down and he gets a double injury, we don't want that.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11It's untried and not without danger, but it's the only way up.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Coming up: Simon's journey to hospital begins.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22But it's a risky operation.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Get back to side, mate. Fooled me and all.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27A mini-bus driver has a miraculous escape on the ice.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31If it had gone up in flames, we would have been no chance.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35And a teenage rider is kicked in the face by her horse.
0:07:51 > 0:07:57The modern ambulance is a sophisticated vehicle, fully equipped to save lives.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Not only does it have the latest medical technology, it's also crewed
0:08:01 > 0:08:08by highly trained paramedics, but what happens when winter hits the roads?
0:08:08 > 0:08:12It's breakfast time at Helimed headquarters. Paramedics Tony Wilkes
0:08:12 > 0:08:16and Kate Coughlan are being scrambled on a seaside rescue.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21What I'm going to do, I'll get the coastguard there to get a landing site set up.
0:08:21 > 0:08:27In the picturesque fishing village of Runswick Bay an elderly man has suffered a stroke.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32Stroke is where somebody's got an injury to the brain, either
0:08:32 > 0:08:34a blood vessel's bleeding into the brain,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36or there is blood clot in the brain.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40Research has showed a lot of these patients do really well,
0:08:40 > 0:08:43provided they get definitive treatment quite early.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47Local paramedics have been forced to park up and hike half a mile down
0:08:47 > 0:08:53steep steps to their patient. The road down the cliffs is icy and lethal.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56The coastguard are securing the seafront landing pad for the chopper.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59Helimed 99, this is Humber Coastguard.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02For information now our coastguard team are on the scene.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06If you call them direct on this channel for an update. Over.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11Each minute increases the risk of their patient suffering further brain damage.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15But the snow could yet prevent pilot Chris Atrill from reaching him.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19MUFFLED SPEECH
0:09:19 > 0:09:21We'll go around the left down here.
0:09:21 > 0:09:22OK.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Tom Taylor is 89.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29He collapsed in his seafront house overlooking the beach.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33Runswick Bay is perched on the side of a 300-foot cliff.
0:09:33 > 0:09:39The coastguard have sealed off the beach so the pilot, Chris, has a clear landing pad.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42- Are you OK?- You're fine to go.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47Kate and Tony know it's vital their patient gets to hospital as soon as possible.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51You will need a scoop or a spinal board to get him out of house.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54But it's not just the roads that are icy.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59The ancient walkways, built with Victorian fishermen in mind, are also lethally slippery.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Whereabouts are we? Hi, mate.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08- He was on the bath side and fell back and hit his head.- Right.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Tom, my name's Kate.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Can you hear me OK?
0:10:15 > 0:10:17You're going to go to James Cook.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20'Tom's in a bad way. He's had strokes before.'
0:10:20 > 0:10:26You'll go in the helicopter, because with the bad weather, it's quite hard for the ambulance to come down.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28All right?
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Are you all right with that? Good man.
0:10:31 > 0:10:37Tom and his neighbours are virtually cut off from the outside word, thanks to the big freeze.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Atrocious. Absolutely atrocious.
0:10:39 > 0:10:45That bank that you came down has been basically shut for a couple of days.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50There's no grit now. All that's been used, we just can't get any.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52But the weather will also make Tom's rescue complicated.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56It might take ten minutes to actually get him down there.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59The pilot's wondering whether to be OK or just wait for this.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01I will have a word with pilot.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04I'll bring scoop up and I'll see you back up here. OK.
0:11:04 > 0:11:10Basically, this chap's in the bedroom in the house, we need the scoop stretcher to get him down.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14I'm just going to liaise with the pilot and get the scoop.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Then we'll go back and see if we can get him down to the helicopter.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Pilot Chris must keep the engines running, in case a technical fault
0:11:21 > 0:11:25prevents him lifting off before the tide comes in.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28We'll stay running here for a while, mate, as long as somebody keeps an
0:11:28 > 0:11:30eye out and makes sure nobody walks in behind me. That's all.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33I told coastguard that we would have to wait here.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37It would be safer to airlift Tom from the cliff top. But that's impossible.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42They're going to have to carry him down several flights of steep stone steps to the beach.
0:11:42 > 0:11:48They're icy and it will be a risky operation, but leaving Tom's stroke untreated could kill him.
0:11:54 > 0:12:00Coming up: Tom's rescuers face a difficult job carrying him to Helimed 99.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Sledger Simon desperately needs surgery.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06He's stable, but in a lot of pain. We've given him the maximum pain relief we can.
0:12:06 > 0:12:11And the team carry out a dramatic house call, only to find someone missing.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16The patient's left scene in the response car, apparently on their way to a football pitch.
0:12:30 > 0:12:35At 150mph, the Helimed choppers can fly straight over most of
0:12:35 > 0:12:39the hazards that get in the way of their colleagues on the ground.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Even in weather like this.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45But there's one deadly danger that can stop even the Helimed team.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50At Sheffield Airport, it's the coldest day of the year.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55Temperatures last night plunged to minus seven Celsius.
0:12:55 > 0:13:01Just a few miles up the road, whole communities are cut off and driving's lethal.
0:13:01 > 0:13:08It's not long before paramedics Pete Vallance and Kate Drye are on their way to deal with the results.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10They say a minibus left the road,
0:13:10 > 0:13:14overturned and we believe there are two casualties.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Not sure at the moment whether anyone's trapped.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Down there, road ambulances are struggling to reach patients,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23but flying in winter has its problems too.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Navigation's much harder over a landscape of white
0:13:26 > 0:13:30and there's confusion over the location of the accident.
0:13:30 > 0:13:36The grid reference is wrong. It says it is near the Slouch Inn, which is Slouch and Crow Edge.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38Received over.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Pilot Tim's keeping out a weather eye.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44A snow storm could ground Helimed 98.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48We've got snow showers in the area.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52Some out to the west, which are moving our way slowly.
0:13:52 > 0:13:57So that might hamper the job at some stage, depending how long we are on the ground for.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59Paramedic, Kate, lives near the accident.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01It's really icy this morning.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04I live up near there and it was icy on my way to work.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07So we could be first on the scene, it depends what the road is like.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11That's if they can reach it. The snow's starting to fall.
0:14:11 > 0:14:16I can't see anything, do you want to just tell them, Kate.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20Yeah, 98. There's nothing at the grid by the Slouch, so we are making
0:14:20 > 0:14:23our way up to Crow Edge to see if there's anything up there, over.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27This is tricky. Snow is reducing visibility.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29- There it is?- Oh, yeah.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32- What a spot that was! - THEY LAUGH
0:14:32 > 0:14:36- It's a good job you slowed down. - Helimed 98, landing on scene, over.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43The minibus was taking a holiday-maker to Manchester Airport
0:14:43 > 0:14:45when it left the road and overturned.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50The driver and his passenger ended up hanging upside-down from their seat belts.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53What I need you to do...
0:14:53 > 0:14:57'Kate would like to check out the driver but he reckons he's unhurt.'
0:14:57 > 0:15:02I'll pop on here that you had no apparent injuries and didn't feel you needed assessment at hospital.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04- All right?- Yeah.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08Despite the shock of the accident, the passenger was fit enough
0:15:08 > 0:15:11to climb out and hitch a lift to catch his flight.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13He's been really, really lucky.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18He's obviously skidded on some black ice, come off the road and it's rolled onto its roof
0:15:18 > 0:15:22and they've both got out, wandering around, no injuries.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27If we had been in flames, we'd have had no chance... We wouldn't have got out.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30But the weather is getting worse.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32It's like a different world, isn't it?
0:15:32 > 0:15:36A couple of miles down the road at Penistone, it's virtually clear,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39and you're coming up here, it's like Alaska, isn't it?
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Snowdrifts and everything else.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45It's afternoon and Tim wants to get out while he can.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Quite heavy snow showers coming in, so we'll either have to wait until
0:15:48 > 0:15:51it clears but if it doesn't, we'll taxi down the main road until
0:15:51 > 0:15:54we're back into clear air, so we can fly back to Sheffield.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59Tim is going to have to work hard.
0:15:59 > 0:16:05Blowing snow is robbing him of the visual references he needs to stay straight and level.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08He looks calm but he's under stress.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Can you hit the heater switch, Pete?
0:16:13 > 0:16:15Yeah. Do you want it vent high?
0:16:15 > 0:16:17'Eventually, he has no option.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19'They're not going anywhere.'
0:16:19 > 0:16:22No. That's not a good idea, we're staying here.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27Helimed 98 is stranded in a blizzard, 500ft up in the Pennines,
0:16:27 > 0:16:31next to a road that's rapidly becoming impassable.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Shall I send for my husband and a flask of tea?
0:16:34 > 0:16:38- Anybody got any cards? - THEY LAUGH
0:16:41 > 0:16:44We're stranded at the moment, on the top of a hill in heavy snow showers.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46So we'll be waiting here until it clears.
0:16:49 > 0:16:55At the moment, visibility is such that we're unable to lift safely to head back to Sheffield airport,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57so we'll either end up with
0:16:57 > 0:17:02an igloo or we'll get back to Sheffield some time before knocking off time.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Checking the forecast.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11But after an hour in an unheated cabin, that igloo's looking tempting.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Just seeing where Captain Scott's supply depots were positioned over the Pennines.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18It's not often these guys need rescuing,
0:17:18 > 0:17:22but in this weather, four-wheel drive beats flying any day.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Conditions are getting worse. We've got this for at least another two or three hours.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29But that's the way it goes, isn't it?
0:17:29 > 0:17:33As the weather gets even worse, the police come to the rescue.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37These tarpaulins will protect Helimed 98 until it stops falling.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45The crew find somewhere more comfortable to sit out the blizzard.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Oh, dear. I've got Pete's hand in the air. Wait a sec.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51We're used to going out in the elements. You wrap up,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54so you've got plenty of layers on - thermals, fleece, jacket.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57But once you get damp, then you soon start to feel that.
0:17:57 > 0:18:02And there's a good reason there's a warm welcome at the inn.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04'We needed a call-out 14 months ago,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07'when my mother-in-law was badly injured in a fire up here.'
0:18:07 > 0:18:12The paramedic came first and they called the air ambulance. They did a wonderful job.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16At last, three hours after their emergency landing,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19and with less than an hour of daylight left,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22the crew leave the log fire to thaw out Helimed 98.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25We've got a clearing at the moment.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27The weather is temporarily clear.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31We still have snow showers coming in over the hills so we'll keep an eye on those,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34but we'll make a break for it and get back to Sheffield now.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Look at that. A Crimbo-card shot.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40White out!
0:18:40 > 0:18:44It's been a long day, but at least Helimed 98
0:18:44 > 0:18:47will be back at base and ready to save lives again tomorrow.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Coming up...
0:18:55 > 0:18:58A difficult seaside rescue reaches its climax,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02and high in the Dales, a trip to the shops ends in a nasty crash.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06There's a sort of sensation pulsating down her right leg as well.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Now let's go back to the snowbound slopes of the North York Moors,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18where a man on a makeshift sledge has had a terrible accident.
0:19:18 > 0:19:25The worst winter for 30 years has brought the sledgers of North Yorkshire out in force.
0:19:25 > 0:19:31The icy conditions mean that Helimed 99 has to land at the top of a hill,
0:19:31 > 0:19:36half-a-mile away from 28-year-old Simon Batty, who has run aground in his rubber dinghy.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Simon's injuries are potentially life-threatening,
0:19:39 > 0:19:44and getting him back up the treacherous slope to the helicopter is a problem.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46But paramedic Glen has had an idea.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49Nice and steady, nowt fast.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54Towing a patient by quad bike definitely isn't standard procedure and it could be risky.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59The only other option is to call out mountain rescue and they're at least an hour away.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Any delay in getting Simon to hospital could put his life in further danger.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05It's great, it works every time!
0:20:05 > 0:20:07I'm glad Glen thought of it.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11It's Glen's idea. If it snaps and goes back down, I don't get blamed for it!
0:20:11 > 0:20:14HE LAUGHS
0:20:16 > 0:20:21It's hard to believe this is North Yorkshire, not the North Pole.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27At last they make it, without mishap.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32Excuse me, would you pull this dinghy out for us when we lift it?
0:20:32 > 0:20:34Just go straight up to start with.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36On lift. Ready, steady, lift.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Feet first. A bit higher than that.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45- Feed it on, keep it up. - Keep going, keep going.
0:20:47 > 0:20:48Lovely.
0:20:51 > 0:20:52Breathe in.
0:20:52 > 0:20:53And out.
0:20:55 > 0:20:56In, and out.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59We're going to take this chap down to York District
0:20:59 > 0:21:01to get him checked over. He needs an X-ray.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03He's stable, but in a lot of pain.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05We've given him the maximum pain relief we can
0:21:05 > 0:21:07and he's still in a lot of pain
0:21:07 > 0:21:10so we're querying some fractures, we don't know where,
0:21:10 > 0:21:11but he is now stable.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15Within minutes, Simon is on his way to the best care available.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17Glen is relieved his plan has worked
0:21:17 > 0:21:22and Simon's sister is making the best of a bad situation.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24This is the best view you'll ever get of the snow.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28I always wanted to ride in a helicopter, but I never thought that it would be this way.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33- At the expense of your brother's leg.- Yeah.- You can say what you like, he can't hear you!
0:21:33 > 0:21:36- It's normally me that's the accident-prone one.- Right.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Did you witness the actual accident?
0:21:39 > 0:21:44No, I didn't. I rang him and his friend answered and I said, "Where's Simon?"
0:21:44 > 0:21:47He said, "He's had an accident, can you get here?"
0:21:47 > 0:21:51I'm like, "I'm at the top of the bank, you're not in the dinghy at the bottom?"
0:21:51 > 0:21:53He was like, "Yes, we are."
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Everybody mucked in. Did you know the gentleman with the quad?
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Really lucky that we had that there.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04I don't know what we'd have done if we hadn't. We'd have been there another half-hour at least.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06He did a sterling job, did that lad.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09- Keep him up, keep him up. - Everybody happy?
0:22:09 > 0:22:13Simon will soon know what damage the telegraph pole has done to him.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17Simon, you're trussed up like a Christmas turkey, mate!
0:22:19 > 0:22:24Whatever his injuries, he's going to take a long time to recover.
0:22:28 > 0:22:29'Coming up...
0:22:29 > 0:22:32'I visit a very lucky man in hospital
0:22:32 > 0:22:36'and the team race to rescue the victim of a heart attack,
0:22:36 > 0:22:37'but no-one is home.'
0:22:37 > 0:22:42The patient has left, seen in the response car apparently, on the way to a football pitch.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06There's one good thing about winter by the seaside.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Thanks to the salty air, the snow doesn't usually hang around,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12but in Runswick Bay on the Yorkshire coast,
0:23:12 > 0:23:17the weather has still managed to put the skids under the local paramedics.
0:23:17 > 0:23:23Helimed 99 is waiting on the beach to carry out a life-saving airlift.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25Tom Taylor has suffered a stroke and is trapped
0:23:25 > 0:23:28in his seaside cottage by the wintry weather that has made
0:23:28 > 0:23:31the steep hill down to his home impassable.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35One, two, three. Up you come. We're up.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37It's good to see what you look like now.
0:23:37 > 0:23:42He badly needs clot-busting drugs to prevent further damage to his brain.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45- Which way do you want to go? - We're going to James Cook.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Doctors at James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough
0:23:48 > 0:23:50are already on standby.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Blood pressure 89 over 52.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Oxygen saturation is 97%.
0:24:01 > 0:24:02It's icy underfoot
0:24:02 > 0:24:06and this is a dangerous journey for patient and rescuers alike.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10We're going to bring him down now so I'll just get the helicopter ready.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13- Have you got enough manpower? - It looks like it, yes.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Pilot Chris is concerned about the time the rescue is taking.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19He's watching the sea
0:24:19 > 0:24:21and he doesn't like what he sees.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25I've been watching it near the rocks. It's not moving any further away.
0:24:25 > 0:24:26It's probably going out.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30Runswick Bay was built around a network of alleyways and steps,
0:24:30 > 0:24:34when reaching the beach on foot was all the local fishermen cared about.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40- You watch your back, mate.- Just bring him down there.- Are you sure?
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Now, its antiquated layout is making life difficult.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47Do you want me to take that, sweetheart? You sure?
0:24:47 > 0:24:50But at last, Tom reaches the beach.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Tom's son will fly with him.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Watch your feet, OK?
0:24:54 > 0:24:59Pilot Chris has been nervously watching the tide for 45 minutes.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02He's relieved to be preparing for take-off.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06Tom's son is a former soldier who has served in Iraq.
0:25:06 > 0:25:11He's used to helicopters, but this is the first time he's taken off from his own front door.
0:25:11 > 0:25:17Helimed 99 to Staithes coastguard, just thank you very much for your assistance. Over.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21'This is Staithes coastguard, you're more than welcome.'
0:25:21 > 0:25:26Kate knows Tom's chances of a full recovery will be much better once he's reached Middlesbrough,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28and the journey will take just ten minutes,
0:25:28 > 0:25:33a fraction of the hour-and-a-half it could have taken in these weather conditions by road.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38He's got quite a big history of strokes,
0:25:38 > 0:25:42so he'll need a good examination before
0:25:42 > 0:25:44they decide what to do next, really.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47He's invincible, I think, to be honest.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Tom has had a remarkable life.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53More than 20 years ago, at an age when most people are thinking of retirement,
0:25:53 > 0:25:59he and his wife adopted six orphans from Brazil and brought them up here.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01All from the same village,
0:26:01 > 0:26:04and she kept going back and forth and adopting children.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08Basically we have been living here for the last 16 years,
0:26:08 > 0:26:12so it's been nice, very nice.
0:26:12 > 0:26:17Tom is taken straight to the hospital's specialist stroke unit.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19Over the next few weeks, his condition improves
0:26:19 > 0:26:21and he's moved to a nursing home,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25where he receives regular visits from his large adopted family.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Sadly, six months later, Tom passed away.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39'Coming up...
0:26:39 > 0:26:42'I gate-crashed visiting time to meet a very lucky patient,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45'despite 11 broken ribs.'
0:26:45 > 0:26:47I've fractured my hip,
0:26:47 > 0:26:50which I've had to have pinned and plated.
0:26:55 > 0:27:00When the weather is like this, normal life can come to a standstill,
0:27:00 > 0:27:04but the UK's number one killer doesn't care about snow and ice.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Heart disease can strike at any moment,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11even when the roads to your local hospital are blocked.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13And when that happens,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16you had better hope the Helimed team are around.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19Yorkshire's air ambulances spend most of their time
0:27:19 > 0:27:22flying to the rescue of victims of traumatic injury,
0:27:22 > 0:27:26but the big freeze means they can be called in for any medical emergency
0:27:26 > 0:27:29and for one man with a heart attack,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32help is about to come from the skies.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34They're on their way to a village near York.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36A call
0:27:36 > 0:27:38from the other side of York.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41A patient having a heart attack.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43Land transit would be up to two hours,
0:27:43 > 0:27:48so we've offered to go and collect the patient.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54Helimed 99 touches down at the bottom of the patient's garden, but there's a problem.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56He's not at home!
0:27:56 > 0:28:01The patient has left the scene in the response car apparently, on their way to a football pitch.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03He didn't know anything about this. Over.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08So it's back through the garage and time to get some directions.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11Which way is the football pitch? Do you know where that is?
0:28:14 > 0:28:17VOICES TALK ON RADIO
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Helimed 99 finds the football pitch and the patient.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24Helimed 99 on the ground of the new location. Over.
0:28:26 > 0:28:31Peter Wilson's flight to hospital may have been slightly delayed by a communications breakdown,
0:28:31 > 0:28:36but he'll be undergoing life-saving treatment far faster than if he'd gone by road.
0:28:38 > 0:28:44Doctors in Leeds General Infirmary's angioplasty unit quickly opened up the blocked arteries in his heart.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46He could be at home
0:28:46 > 0:28:51within as little as two days and that's from a major heart attack.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54I don't think, really, we could ask for better than that.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58Thousands of motorists ended up stuck in snow drifts
0:28:58 > 0:29:02or marooned miles from home as snow blanketed Britain,
0:29:02 > 0:29:05but even light snowfall can prove lethal.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10It's breakfast time on the North York Moors,
0:29:10 > 0:29:14but in the wilds of Eskdale, ice on a steep hill has caught out an unwary lorry driver.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17A tree is all that's preventing his truck
0:29:17 > 0:29:19plunging down a 30ft drop to the river below,
0:29:19 > 0:29:21and the driver is trapped.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28They've come down to deliver meat in the village and have arrived down the slope.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32When they hit the bend, the vehicle slid and rolled down the embankment.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34It's come to a halt on the tree.
0:29:34 > 0:29:3750 miles away, the crew of Helimed 99 are on the case.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40Whether there is any other vehicle involved, I don't know.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Darren Axe and Tony Wilkes know the extreme cold
0:29:43 > 0:29:47could have serious consequences for anyone caught out in the open.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Hypothermia is a real risk today.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00Helimed 99 is heading east across the icy Vale Of York.
0:30:00 > 0:30:06We're on our way towards Whitby, Egton, which is out in the middle of nowhere.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10Unfortunately, it's a fair distance out, over 45 miles.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14At best speed, that will take us about 20 minutes to get there.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18Below, fresh snow is making blue lights and sirens next to useless.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21No-one can drive quickly on these roads
0:30:21 > 0:30:24and even ambulances have been caught out by the conditions.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28The crew are four minutes away from the incident.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31Crikey, we're only three minutes behind them.
0:30:31 > 0:30:32Yeah, Roger. Thanks for that.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34ETA is about 45 minutes. Over.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Might be first on the scene, then.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39Yeah. Look at that one. That's a good one, isn't it, mate?
0:30:40 > 0:30:45This is the area patrolled by the 1960s policemen in the TV drama, Heartbeat.
0:30:45 > 0:30:51It's an idyllic landscape, but even today the locals are a long way away from a major hospital.
0:30:51 > 0:30:57It's a really beautiful part of the world, and even at this time of the year with the snow down,
0:30:57 > 0:31:01it's really scenic. The problem is, the roads can be treacherous.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04Obviously they're just country lanes, a lot of them,
0:31:04 > 0:31:08and they don't get gritted, so driving can be particularly hazardous.
0:31:08 > 0:31:13It's quite common to have quite nasty road-traffic collisions up here,
0:31:13 > 0:31:15especially when the weather is as it is today.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19At least the White Horse on Sutton Bank is white today and not grey! HE LAUGHS
0:31:19 > 0:31:21Because of the speed at which we go,
0:31:21 > 0:31:25it's a long and arduous trip for the ground ambulance crews,
0:31:25 > 0:31:28especially in weather conditions like this.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31- We're going to pull straight up, mate.- OK.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41Local paramedics have arrived first.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44- It's Neil, 49.- Right.
0:31:44 > 0:31:47We think he's had a skid with a car.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50- He's all right, actually.- Is he?
0:31:50 > 0:31:53He just said he was trapped by the steering wheel, that's all.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55Yeah, that's fine.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57It looks like the driver has had a lucky escape,
0:31:57 > 0:32:00but he's not out of danger yet.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04A single tree is supporting several tons of lorry.
0:32:04 > 0:32:10Firefighters are struggling to remove the steering wheel so he can be freed from his cab.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12Looks like he's been a really lucky chap.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15He's skidded off the road, hit this tree,
0:32:15 > 0:32:18which has stopped him going down any further into the river.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20He's just got minor injuries.
0:32:20 > 0:32:26The driver has been lent a woolly hat by the local policeman to keep him warm,
0:32:26 > 0:32:27but he hasn't got time to get cold.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32Within minutes, he's out and fit enough to scramble back up the ravine
0:32:32 > 0:32:34that could so easily have killed him.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37His rescuers know he's a lucky man.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40- This way, love.- Steady on, lad!
0:32:40 > 0:32:42He's been lucky.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44He's hit that tree.
0:32:44 > 0:32:45If you can call it lucky!
0:32:45 > 0:32:49- What do you reckon?- If it wouldn't have been for them trees, there,
0:32:49 > 0:32:51he'd have been going for a swim.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55Without his delivery, the local shops will be short of meat today,
0:32:55 > 0:32:59but he'll soon be back at work after a precautionary check-up.
0:33:01 > 0:33:07The demand on the emergency services during the big freeze doesn't just drop because it's Christmas,
0:33:07 > 0:33:11and winter is doing its best to put the skids under the Helimed team.
0:33:13 > 0:33:19The electric trolley that lifts the chopper out of its hangar can't handle the snow.
0:33:19 > 0:33:24It may be Boxing Day, but Helimed 99 is soon airborne.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27We've got a visual of the vehicle. 99 over.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29The accident happened at stables in North Yorkshire.
0:33:29 > 0:33:3514-year-old Fern Edwards was saddling her horse when she was kicked in the face.
0:33:35 > 0:33:41It's Boxing Day and the weather is obviously chilly.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45It's a fair run out for us, but apparently the nearest ground vehicle
0:33:45 > 0:33:50is over 40 minutes away, whereas we're a 12-minute flight, maximum.
0:33:50 > 0:33:56Fern has suffered serious injuries and needs urgent plastic surgery.
0:33:56 > 0:33:57Has she got any bleeding or...?
0:33:57 > 0:34:01It's actively bleeding out of the wound itself. It's started to clot.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05Any significant injury above the collarbone
0:34:05 > 0:34:10dictates that they need to be immobilised on a spinal board
0:34:10 > 0:34:12and transferred to hospital in that way.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16Let me just have a quick feel at your neck. Tell me if it hurts.
0:34:16 > 0:34:17Is that OK?
0:34:17 > 0:34:19Fern's mum is terrified.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21Her daughter is an experienced horsewoman
0:34:21 > 0:34:24and accidents like this are very rare.
0:34:24 > 0:34:25Can you open your eyes at all?
0:34:25 > 0:34:27SHE GROANS
0:34:27 > 0:34:29Is it too sore to do that?
0:34:29 > 0:34:32Her right eye has swelled up quite a lot since we arrived.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36The force needed to inflict the kind of wounds Fern has suffered
0:34:36 > 0:34:39means she could also have sustained injuries to her neck.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41Bring her right up.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43Try not to put any weight on.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47With the roads around the stable still treacherous with snow,
0:34:47 > 0:34:51ground paramedics know Helimed 99 is the best way to get Fern to hospital.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55Flight confirmed, and clear left.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57Clear behind.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00The road journey to James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough
0:35:00 > 0:35:02could take twice the usual time today,
0:35:02 > 0:35:04even on a traffic-free Boxing Day.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07By air, it'll be less than 10 minutes.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13OK, 080 is your bearing, 16.6 miles.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17In Middlesbrough, a surgical team called in from home
0:35:17 > 0:35:19is already preparing for Fern's arrival.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24They'll operate immediately to repair her injuries, but the risk of infection is high.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28It'll be an anxious Christmas week for her mum.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32In just three hours, one day during the big freeze,
0:35:32 > 0:35:35nearly 1,000 people dialled 999 for an ambulance,
0:35:35 > 0:35:39so many that one day the service had to enact their disaster plan
0:35:39 > 0:35:43designed for a major plane or train crash.
0:35:43 > 0:35:49Up in the Dales, the greatest demand comes as a slight thaw tempts locals to head out for supplies.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53Today, that has led to a serious accident.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56Helimed 99 outbound...
0:35:56 > 0:36:00east to Wensleydale.
0:36:00 > 0:36:06Helimed 99 is flying through the spectacular scenery of Wolfdale.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10In the summer, Bolton Abbey is a major tourist attraction,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13but today the roads are too dangerous for sightseers.
0:36:13 > 0:36:20You need four-wheel drive on these roads, and Kate knows her colleagues down there often don't have it.
0:36:20 > 0:36:25It's pretty difficult to drive in these conditions because you want to get there as quick as you can
0:36:25 > 0:36:27but there's no point crashing your ambulance
0:36:27 > 0:36:29and needing a crew to come out for you.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33The team are on their way to help out a ground crew at a crash involving a car
0:36:33 > 0:36:37and a van on a minor road near the market town of Middleham.
0:36:39 > 0:36:45This is racing country and it's the first day the local trainers have been able to exercise their horses.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49This winter has been particularly bad really for the amounts that's come down,
0:36:49 > 0:36:52but generally you do, at some point, get snow up here.
0:36:52 > 0:36:59It's the time of year when we do get requests off land crews, particularly struggling on the roads.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03Any time of year we can get road-traffic collisions, in particular up here,
0:37:03 > 0:37:06but these weather conditions make it more likely.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09If you do get yourself caught out with these sub-zero temperatures,
0:37:09 > 0:37:15obviously it wouldn't take very long before you find yourself having real problems.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18A crew from one of Yorkshire's most isolated ambulance stations,
0:37:18 > 0:37:22Bainbridge, a village with a population of just a few hundred,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24is already on a scene at a remote junction.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26The domestics just at your 1 o'clock.
0:37:28 > 0:37:33Even on dry roads, this area is more than 45 minutes from the nearest hospital
0:37:33 > 0:37:36and more than an hour from a trauma unit.
0:37:36 > 0:37:41Worryingly, the motorist is getting strange pains in her legs.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44- She's got a pain score of five. - But is it spinal or muscular?
0:37:44 > 0:37:47She's not that sure really, she's not given much away.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51But there's a sort of like sensation pulsating down her right leg as well.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54- Hiya, pet. How are you doing? - We're doing OK.
0:37:54 > 0:38:00Zoe Gomm works for a company that provides animals and stunt riders for movies.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03She worked on the film The Da Vinci Code,
0:38:03 > 0:38:06but today she's been injured on a trip to the shops.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09No numbness, no pins and needles.
0:38:09 > 0:38:10Feels worse than it was?
0:38:10 > 0:38:12Yes. I can't twist that way.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15I knew once I had hit it in the car, I could feel it.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19I'm just worried because my legs have gone with it before.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22Zoe's car isn't badly damaged, but the crew know
0:38:22 > 0:38:26that doesn't necessarily mean she's not badly hurt.
0:38:26 > 0:38:27Basically she's got back pain.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30She's got previous back problems, so we're not sure
0:38:30 > 0:38:34if it's just exacerbation of previous problems she's had.
0:38:34 > 0:38:41But erring on the side of caution, the land crew's immobilised her and we're going to fly her to Lancaster.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44The roads to the hospital she'll be flown to are blocked with snow.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47That doesn't matter to Helimed 99.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49Thank God I didn't have my little one in the car.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51- That's a blessing.- Isn't it?- Yeah.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Zoe's new to Dales' winters
0:38:54 > 0:38:56and this weather.
0:38:56 > 0:39:01We're very cut-off because we've got a massive hill each end,
0:39:01 > 0:39:02so it wasn't gritted.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05I didn't get out for three or four days when the snow first came,
0:39:05 > 0:39:11but this last week it's been quite horrendous, but I just continued out in it really.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13There's nothing else you can do.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16BP is 124 over 70.
0:39:16 > 0:39:22Pulse oxygenation is 99% on air with a pulse of 75.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26In 10 minutes, Zoe will be touching down on the helipad
0:39:26 > 0:39:29at Lancaster Royal Infirmary where her back will be scanned.
0:39:29 > 0:39:34For her, the flight is much more comfortable than the road journey,
0:39:34 > 0:39:38but the big freeze is likely to make the team's job harder for some weeks yet.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42It'll be April before the last snow melts from the hills of the Dales.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48Helimed 99 battling with the snow there,
0:39:48 > 0:39:51and I'm pleased to say all our team's patients recovered,
0:39:51 > 0:39:55but in North Yorkshire, hospital doctors are waiting to examine a man
0:39:55 > 0:39:59seriously injured in a sledging accident.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03'Simon Batty is stranded with serious injuries
0:40:03 > 0:40:06'after crashing his rubber dinghy.
0:40:06 > 0:40:12'His sister, Claire, is witnessing one of the most unusual rescues Helimed 99 has ever carried out.
0:40:12 > 0:40:19'A farmer on a quad bike has been commandeered to tow Simon up the icy slope to the waiting helicopter.
0:40:21 > 0:40:27'It's exactly one week since Simon had his freak sledging accident.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30'He's recovering in York Hospital and Claire has brought
0:40:30 > 0:40:33'Simon's little girl, Sophie, to see her dad too.'
0:40:33 > 0:40:36So tell us then about this day
0:40:36 > 0:40:39that led you to be here in this hospital bed now.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42Claire suggested going sledging at the weekend
0:40:42 > 0:40:46so I thought, "Oh, it's a good idea." I had been watching it on the news.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48I haven't been sledging for years.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51What did you end up taking as your sledge?
0:40:51 > 0:40:54I took my rubber dinghy that I bought in Tenerife!
0:40:54 > 0:41:01I had been there about two hours. I just decided to get back on it and have another go. I just took off.
0:41:01 > 0:41:02You were literally just flying down.
0:41:02 > 0:41:04A free-for-all really.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06I couldn't do nothing about it.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09I just saw this great telegraph pole coming towards me,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12hitting it, sort of wrapping around it,
0:41:12 > 0:41:16and it's sort of like, as I wrapped round it,
0:41:16 > 0:41:19it sprung me off and from then on I just couldn't breathe.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22I knew I was in quite a lot of trouble.
0:41:22 > 0:41:27I knew myself that it was probably a helicopter job
0:41:27 > 0:41:29because of just where we were.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33I thought, "There's no way they're going to get me out of here."
0:41:33 > 0:41:36There was still people sledging, hadn't realised what had happened,
0:41:36 > 0:41:38still coming down the bank.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41So myself and my husband, Mark,
0:41:41 > 0:41:43we tried to stop any further accidents happening
0:41:43 > 0:41:49or anybody ploughing into him because that would have made his injuries much worse.
0:41:49 > 0:41:54They dropped me off near York Hospital and as soon as I got to the hospital,
0:41:54 > 0:41:58I was straight on the morphine and that was it. A bit blurred from there.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01You know this could have been so much worse, don't you?
0:42:01 > 0:42:05Just by the 11 ribs, it's an absolute miracle how he didn't puncture them.
0:42:05 > 0:42:11If he had done in those conditions, in the situation, it could have been a lot worse.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14When Helicopter Heroes comes back...
0:42:14 > 0:42:19A 12-year-old boy fights for his life after his mum's car hits a bus.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21He's been unconscious all the time.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25A farmer is badly injured after an explosion in a barn.
0:42:25 > 0:42:26It's 300 metres blast radius.
0:42:26 > 0:42:31- Knock knock!- One of the UK's toughest sports claims a casualty.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35Did you fall and hurt yourself anywhere else?
0:42:35 > 0:42:39And there's a mercy mission in the snow to save a sick little girl.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:42:51 > 0:42:54E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk