Episode 4 Helicopter Heroes

If you're seriously ill,

or critically injured, every second counts,

especially if you're up high or off the beaten track,

but, thanks to these guys, the people of the UK's biggest county

are never more than ten minutes away from a hospital.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance can do 150 miles an hour,

and every day brings a new life-or-death emergency.

Five million people depend on these yellow helicopters to bring life-saving care from the skies.

When a multiple pile-up closes Britain's highest motorway,

or there's a serious accident on the shop floor,

the highly-trained paramedics and pilots of the Helimed team are there to rescue the casualties.

Today on Helicopter Heroes...

the team battle to save a farm-worker's badly injured leg...

Good man. Take some nice deep breaths. Don't worry.

..Paramedic Sammy's in a tight spot with a patient who's rolled his hatchback...

-Which wrist is it that's hurting most, this one?

-Yes.

..An adventurous teenager tumbles out of a tree...

Nothing to say there is...

..And there's a major operation to save a tombstoner who's plunged from a waterfall.

Farming sounds like a great way to make a living -

plenty of fresh air and beautiful countryside to enjoy,

but a lot of the machinery you work with can be lethal,

as one farmhand found out during the harvest in North Yorkshire.

RADIO: 'I've got someone. It looks like he might have amputated his foot,

'or part of his leg, I'm not sure, with a combine harvester.'

Helimed 99's just delivered a patient to hospital, now there's an even more urgent case.

'If you could mobilise on this as soon as you can, Tone.'

Luckily, they're just 10 minutes from the remote farm where the accident has happened.

But paramedics Tony Wilkes and Lee Gray know there's a problem -

999 callers are rarely able to give a grid reference,

especially when the accident's happened in a farmer's field.

-This is an area grid, so we're looking for...

-'A combine harvester, basically, yeah.'

The crew have to rely on their eyesight.

Is that machinery near that bale... bales of hay at two o'clock?

Luckily, Lee's sharp eye has spotted the incident.

'Yeah, bike on your right has confirmed.'

A motorbike medic has already reached the scene.

23-year-old tractor driver Jason Winspear was harvesting maize

when he was involved in an accident with a combine.

-You're not allergic to any medicines at all?

-No.

Good man. We're just going to start giving you some pain relief, all right?

-What do we call you? What's your name?

-Jason.

-Jason. Good lad, Jason.

-Good lad, Jase.

-All right, pal. We'll look after you, pal.

Can we have long leg splints, orange ones, please?

The razor-sharp scissors that slice through the thick stalks of the crop

have all but severed Jason's lower leg. He's in a bad way.

If workmates hadn't used a piece of rope as a makeshift tourniquet, he could have already bled to death.

All right? Take some nice deep breaths. We're just going to be round your leg. Don't worry.

The main priority is to control Jason's pain. Lee and Tony have their work cut out.

Again, just try and bear with it, matey.

Luckily, even more expert help is arriving.

From what we can make out, it's probably just a bit of skin just holding.

Flying doctor Rob Anderson can see immediately Jason's leg will have to be fully amputated.

Yeah, well, obviously we can't cut the skin off.

That's what I'd do in this... I've done it before a few times.

What they can't do is tell Jason. It could make his condition worse.

-Agh! The pain!

-I know, mate.

-Agh!

-I know, pal.

Jason, just let me know if the pain gets a lot worse, all right?

-Oh, don't let it get worse.

-Just having a look at this leg, OK?

Coming up - can the team save Jason's leg?

Doctors make a decision that could change his life.

There's a consultant who's interested in re-implanting limbs,

who works here, who going to come and have a look.

A teenager's broken both wrists after plunging 20 feet from a tree.

Pete's just given him some morphine.

Anything, just so I can tie him to me.

And paramedic Tony pulls off a rope trick as he tries to rescue an elderly tourist.

When a patient needs help, paramedics often need to put their own safety second,

but there's no substitute for a reassuring voice when you're injured and trapped.

There's been a head-on crash on a country road near Worksop.

Helimed 98 has been scrambled from its Sheffield base.

We're en route to reports

of a car that's overturned and we believe the patient's trapped.

-Quite a lot of cloud about.

-Yeah.

The heavy mist is making it hard to find the crash scene.

-I think it's down here.

-I've got visibility with the incident.

-Oh, nice one.

-That's really muddy.

-Very muddy.

-Don't just blow the car back over, will you, mate?

-No.

-Let's try and get a skid on the grass.

-OK.

The responder's not with that car that's upturned, he's with the other one.

Two cars have collided.

One of the drivers has walked away, the other is still trapped into his seat and can't get out.

Morning.

-Hello. We've got this chap here.

-Yeah.

-He's not trapped, he's free.

-Yeah.

-We've got some head injuries on that one there that was laid on his side.

-How happy are we about this car - it's not about to go any further, is it?

-This gentleman's a firefighter.

-Pleased to meet you. Thank you very much.

-So everybody's on the way with it.

-Brilliant.

-Okey-dokey.

-OK?

-Yeah.

-Lovely.

-At the moment, you're just balanced, aren't you? How are you feeling?

-I've got a bit of pain in my arm.

-A bit of pain in your arm? OK. Are you normally fit and well?

-Very.

Yeah, no medication or anything?

Once we're in, I'm going to shift the weight of the whole car

and I don't want it to carry on toppling over,

so whilst he's talking to us and we know that he's stable,

we'll just wait a couple of minutes till they're secure.

28-year-old Wayne Glasby is precariously suspended from his seatbelt

and it's cutting into his stomach and shoulder.

Firemen are making the vehicle safe,

so paramedic Sammy Wills can crawl in and take a closer look at Wayne's injuries.

-Wayne, the lady behind you is going to move the headrest, OK?

-Yeah.

SIREN WAILS I'm going to pass out a bit more of that broken glass,

so I can kneel down.

The broken glass isn't from the car windows.

-What did you have in it - a fruit bowl?

-My mum's trifle bowl. She'll kill me.

-Your mum's what, trifle bowl?

-Yeah.

-Is that her job this Christmas?

-She'll have you back, don't worry!

We stabilised the vehicle and now we've allowed the paramedic to go in there

to assess the casualty.

We've now made access into the vehicle to assist and hold the casualty in position.

We're hoping to fold the roof down and assist the casualty out that way.

The combined weight of two cars is around two-and-a-half tonnes.

This is what happens when they crash head on.

-Have I broken it?

-Yeah, I think you have, mate.

-Is it in the palm of your hand?

-Oh-h!

-OK, mate. Well done.

Right, once they've got rid of the windscreen, someone will come in this side and support both your shoulders

and we'll cut that seatbelt off.

CUTTING MACHINERY WHIRRS

I'd like to put a little needle in this one, if that's OK with you.

-I don't like needles.

-You don't like needles?

-I'm a butcher by trade...

If Wayne's broken his wrist, he won't be wielding his butcher's knife for quite a while.

-I pulled my shoulder blade lifting a side of beef yesterday.

-Open and close that arm again.

That's it.

But the paramedics are worried he may have more serious spinal injuries,

which won't come to light until he's out of the car.

Sammy, I can't get in there at the moment.

-How tight is that on your neck?

-Killing me.

-It's really tight.

Wayne is incredibly uncomfortable, but if they cut the seatbelt too soon,

he'll fall on his head.

The powerful jaws of the hydraulic cutters are carving out an escape route -

that's the end of Wayne's nice car.

We're going to slowly release your weight and try and support you best I can.

He's going to go face down and then we'll roll him out there.

Lay against that board, mate. You're all right there.

Just go with it. Lay it down flat. Fingers. Just go with it.

And he's free at last, but the paramedics aren't taking any chances.

They need to keep him as still as possible, so they bring him out face down.

Going to have a quick look. What am I doing?

Before turning him over, paramedic Glen checks to see if Wayne has damaged his back.

It appears he's had a very lucky escape.

-Straighten it for me.

-Oh, my arm!

-Stay still.

Wayne is about to come face to face with his rescuers for the first time.

Pleased to meet you anyway. I can actually see you face-to-face now.

-How are you feeling now?

-I'm fine. It's just my wrist that's hurting.

Yeah, you might have got away... Ooops, sorry. ..With that.

Ready, steady, lift. OK.

Is it your own business, mate?

-I've got a new shop opening Monday an' all.

-Oh, dear.

Wayne's still worried about his butcher's business.

He's due to open a new shop tomorrow and he doesn't know how long he's going to be out of action.

All the paramedics are concerned about is getting him to hospital as soon as possible.

He's really just bothered about his wrist,

but because he's had a bang to the head and his eye is quite closed,

he had a bit of repetitive speech so we're thinking concussion -

head injury, car's rolled as well, so we're playing it safe.

Thanks to Helimed 98, the trip to Rotherham takes a matter of minutes.

Wayne has survived a terrifying road accident and a traumatic recovery from his car.

Now he's about to discover what the long-term effects will be.

Coming up - the team reckon Wayne's lucky to be alive,

but doctors have some bad news.

A hospital team prepare to reattach a farmhand's severed leg...

It's just gone straight through four inches below his knee.

..And the snap that almost cost a photographer his life.

He just wandered off with the camera.

Climbing trees is one of the things many of today's kids have forgotten how to do,

but one teenager has found out why some parents hesitate to let them take risks in the name of play.

13-year-old fallen out of a tree.

It might be an access problem, because it's in some woods near some locks,

so it could be an access problem.

The Helimed team spend most of their time heading out into the countryside to find their patients.

'Progress over to Bramley.'

It's caught in the turbulent wake from the 737, just airborne now.

But today they're battling through the rush hour at Leeds Bradford Airport and heading into town.

Leeds is one of the UK's greenest cities, and in an urban park,

13-year-old Jack Halliday has had a nasty accident.

He's fallen 20 foot from a tree and now he's in agony and his mum is worried.

-He was climbing on that.

-Right.

-A bit snapped off and he fell on the floor.

Jack's a teenage rugby player and he doesn't hurt easily.

-This one it were.

-Up here?

-Yeah. It snapped there.

-Are you with Jack?

-I'm his mum.

-Right.

He landed on his arms, both of which are broken,

But it's the severe back pain that most worries his rescuers.

Keep still. You don't have to move to make the pain come on.

We're going to splint your arms and we'll treat your back as if you've got an injury to it.

Jack's symptoms are similar to those caused by a spinal injury.

He's a long, bumpy walk from the nearest road,

which is why ground paramedics have called in Helimed 99.

Pete's just giving him morphine. That should help with the pain.

I'm just making sure Pete's sharps get put somewhere safe,

as we're in a park and they can easily get lost and they're a danger to everybody else.

Jack's arms are protected by splints made from a special plastic that memorises shape.

-Now bring this arm in as well.

-Am I going to hospital, yeah?

-HE LAUGHS

-Yeah.

Unfortunately, you need to go in, all right?

For Glen, treating injured teenagers is a little too close to home for comfort.

My son's 14. He's a bit like me - scared of heights -

which is a bit ironic, being in a helicopter.

So, no, he doesn't climb trees, but he does play hockey,

so he's more likely to lose his teeth than, er, break both wrists.

Jack's spine has been immobilised.

He's complained of pain in his back

and numbness in his legs - classic symptoms of a serious spinal injury.

The team are taking no chances.

All right, we're going to carry...lift you up,

then we'll try and keep you as straight as we can.

These boards will move around while we're moving, but you won't fall off.

Jack's barely four miles from the region's biggest trauma unit,

the Leeds General Infirmary.

The rush hour's in full swing, but Helimed 99's crew don't have to worry about the jams.

Their patient is on his way to a full examination

by A&E doctors

and it turns out the team were right to take every precaution.

In a long night of surgery, doctors discover that not only has he badly broken his wrists,

he also has serious damage to his spine.

I've got a pin there

and pins there, but I've just got two pins in that one.

And I broke my arm and thumb.

But the worst hangover from his 20-foot fall is this -

a full body cast, keeping his spine rigid.

-OK, so what we're going to do today is take your plasters off.

-Yeah.

-We've got some wires in. We'll take them out.

-Right.

We'll put you in some nice, new, fresh casts. How's your back?

-It's all right.

-All right, yeah? Painful?

-No.

SAW BUZZES

'I think, in the grand scheme of things, he's been very lucky.'

The air ambulance, as you know, brings us critically injured patients,

so I think he's got off relatively lightly.

Good afternoon.

'Coming up, paramedic Sammy finds out why her patient looks a little familiar

'and I take a dip in the pool, but take it from me, you don't want to join me!'

It's freezing!

Now let's return to North Yorkshire where a flying doctor's helping the team rescue

a farmhand badly injured in a serious accident with a combine harvester.

-HE GROANS

-All right, sonny. Keep going for me.

Good lad. Nice deep breaths again for me.

The battle is on to save Jason Winspear's leg.

-He's ready to roll.

-10 minutes.

Yeah, that's fine.

It's almost severed and he's in terrible pain.

Doing really well, mate. Really well.

Good lad. Just slide down to you a bit...

Paramedic Lee Gray's trying to ease it,

but the whole team knows only speed will save this limb.

All right, mate.

He needs emergency surgery to repair the damage caused by the combine's blades.

Air desk, 99.

'99, go ahead.'

Just a quick update, Dave. We've got a male here, approximately 20s.

He's had his left foot

completely amputated.

The doctor's on scene.

He's had morphine and ketamine.

GCS 15.

You look a bit peaky, Jason. Are you feeling a bit weird? Don't worry. Everything's fine.

Let me get you up.

Jason's lucky in one way, at least.

By road, the journey to Middlesbrough's James Cook Hospital

could take 45 minutes or more.

The leg's been pretty much

completely amputated.

I gave him stronger pain relief

and completely amputated the limb for ease of transfer.

There was nothing...that could be done to save the limb

at this present time.

-Just...shoot me.

-Jason, we're just going to give you some oxygen, mate.

-Keep your head nice and clear.

-Anything, just kill me.

-All right.

My leg hurts.

-MACHINE BEEPS

-I know.

I know, Jase, but we won't be long and we'll be up at hospital.

Just 10 minutes.

Jason's leg's amputated from about three inches below his knee.

It's gone straight through his boot

and obviously his suit.

Em, fortunately the farmers on scene

have put a makeshift tourniquet round with some rope,

which has obviously helped things

and then we had a doctor arrive,

which has been a massive help, just to give some ketamine for pain-relief.

Jason's quite sedated at the moment.

His observations are all good,

but we need to get up to James Cook as quick as we can

just to keep the limb viable, really, if we can.

Ready, steady, move.

In some cases, severed limbs can be reattached.

If the cut is clean like this one, the chances are better.

Even then, Jason is unlikely to regain full use of his lower leg.

The surgeons are here now.

They're doing X-rays as we speak and then they'll make a decision.

There's a consultant who's interested in re-implanting limbs

who works here, who's going to come and have a look.

The bone, it's gone straight through horizontally about 4 inches below his knee...

The foot, at the moment, is obviously dead. It was dead when we got there.

There was no blood supply to it.

..But they may be able to re...re-implant it.

Coming up...

doctors face the agonising decision - to operate

or leave Jason to face a lifetime with an artificial limb.

And paramedic Tony rescues a pensioner whose walk across water

ended in a nasty fall.

It's just been a case of getting him over without us all going in, basically.

This control room receives an average of 1,800 999 calls a day

from an area that's bigger than some countries.

That's one call a minute!

So it's only a handful of Yorkshire's patients

who get help from the skies.

Two cars have collided on a country road just outside Worksop.

One of the drivers, 28-year-old Wayne Glasby, is trapped.

Paramedic Sammy Wills has to crawl inside the car

to assess his injuries.

Wayne, this headrest, I'm going to remove it. It's not touching him, is it?

Wayne is a self-employed butcher and if he's broken his wrist,

he won't be able to do his job,

but he seems to have escaped without damaging his back.

Surgeons at the hospital will soon be able to tell.

For more than a month, the staff of Wayne's butcher's shop have had to get by without the boss.

He's undergoing a series of operations in Rotherham Hospital.

'But six weeks after his traumatic accident,

'Wayne's already back on his feet.'

So, you've got a nasty-looking cast on your arm.

Come to a left-hand bend

and all I can physically remember is seeing a Cavalier

coming sideways round the opposite corner and just hit me.

That was it.

And then...woke up in Rotherham Hospital,

"Where the hell am I?" That sort of thing.

I didn't know what had happened, didn't know nothing.

So you were taken to Rotherham Hospital,

where the full extent of your injuries were apparent.

What did you have?

I broke my...my nose and I dislocated my right pelvis,

broke my right cheekbone,

had nine stitches in my left eyelid,

dislocated my left knee,

black and blue from top to toe,

and internal bruising on my right-hand side of my ribs.

So, on top of all that,

you then had a completely crushed arm for good measure?!

From the join of my left wrist to my elbow, I completely shattered it -

my tendons, my guidelines... I just disintegrated my arm, basically.

It's completely shattered. They've had to rebuild it.

'The only thing Wayne can remember from the accident

'is paramedic Sammy taking care of him whilst he was trapped.'

I'd love to thank that lady, personally, sort of thing,

because without her, I don't think I'd be here, to tell you the truth.

She really is an absolute diamond.

And Sammy's just as keen to meet Wayne as he is to meet her.

Good afternoon.

-You wouldn't happen to be Wayne?

-Hello! How are you?

Good. How are you?!

-I've been better, but, yeah...

-You're looking really, really well!

'Whereabouts was I and how was I and what condition was I in?'

-The car itself...

-Yes?

-..Was on its side.

-Right.

You are still with your seatbelt on, so you're pivoted round

and your seatbelt's holding you in and your legs are trying to touch the floor, but don't quite.

You'd obviously got a broken arm - that just stood out -

but then we had to be careful for your neck and your back

and your pelvis. And your legs - you were complaining about one of your knees.

Yeah, like you say, I'm a little fighter. I just keep going. With my business, I've got to.

What did you have in here, a fruit bowl?

Me mum's trifle bowl. She'll kill me.

Your mum's what? Trifle bowl?

Your mum had.... Your mum's bowl was in the back of your car and it was broken.

-The trifle bowl!

-You told me it was the trifle bowl

and I had to take it in chunks cos I couldn't get to you.

I'm like, "This is really sharp glass, not safety glass,"

so I had to say, "Sorry about Mum's bowl!"

-Yes, Mum wasn't a happy bunny about that!

-No?

In fact...we've had quite a laugh and a joke about it

because the first thing Mum said to me after asking if I was OK,

she said, "Where's me glass bowl?"

The top of her agenda, "Where's me glass bowl?"

I said, "You'll have to ask that lady in the orange suit cos I don't know, myself."

It was in several pieces and I did have to remove it before I climbed in.

-I think we owe Mummy a new trifle bowl, I think!

-Yeah.

Despite all his injuries, Wayne knows he's had a lucky escape.

'Thank you, once again,'

-for all your help and effort.

-You are welcome!

Thank you very much.

Coming up...

surgeons at James Cook Hospital decide whether farm worker Jason's leg can be saved.

We all love water.

Everyone wants a swimming pool when we go on holiday.

Here at the original Turkish baths in Harrogate, North Yorkshire,

people have been sampling the delights of water since Victorian times,

but it's also a good place to demonstrate how getting into water unexpectedly,

can endanger your life.

Yorkshire's Three Peaks, high in the Pennines,

are among the UK's wettest places.

This entire landscape was carved out by millions of years of rainfall

and today, one stretch of wild water has claimed a casualty.

Try and take him up the stairs. He'll slide across it.

We came down the steps and seen him lying in the water,

his head in the water, so we got down, pulled him out

and then, obviously - touch wood - managed to get him rescued by the ambulance people.

Robert Hutchinson was walking with his wife

when he slipped 30 feet down a ravine into a waterfall

and was knocked unconscious.

He just wandered off with the camera to take some photographs

cos I'm very slow at walking and he's, you know...

usually better than me.

And...I just couldn't find him.

Helimed 99 has been scrambled,

but the weather that created the Three Peaks could prevent them reaching their patient.

OK, how high's the ground down that way?

Hopefully be able to get direct to have a look.

These clouds have hard centres.

Each conceals a 2,000-foot peak.

We're heading west, then towards higher ground. 2,000 feet now.

But thanks to a lucky break in the cloud cover,

Helimed 99 is finally on the case.

How close are we to moving?

A while yet?

Flying doctor Simon Ward volunteers to go down to the water.

Simon's just going down, our doctor. He's just going to do another assessment.

Have they explained what's going on? We need to get him out in a controlled manner.

Robert's head is bleeding heavily, but Dr Simon has some good news.

His head injury's not that bad.

He's got a facial injury and he's got a Colles' on his right wrist.

Hasn't been any other injury to him.

But Robert's not out of danger yet.

Wading in icy water, the medics can't rule out a neck injury from the fall

and as rain continues to fall, he must be moved.

We're just getting him up now with the help of the rescue organisation

and we'll have a reassessment once he's up

and make a decision about where he'll be taken for treatment.

Volunteers from the local cave-rescue team are used to emergencies like this.

Robert will be hauled up the ravine

by old-fashioned manpower.

But the journey to Helimed 99 will still take its toll.

-Have you got the weight?

-Yeah.

OK, we're going to take it off and put it on the ground.

OK, I've got the handle.

Just come forwards two metres.

A ground-ambulance crew spent half an hour in icy water, treating their patient,

but for the paramedics of the peaks, it's all in a day's work.

'He was conscious, but he had a fracture to his right wrist,

'and obviously some facial injuries from actually falling.'

We were just concerned for the mechanisms of injury.

Robert ended up with a painful broken jaw and a broken wrist.

Next time he stops to take a picture,

he'll be more careful where he's standing.

If ever you've fallen into water unexpectedly,

you'll understand what a shock it can be.

Well, here, people do it for fun

and I'm about to find out what that feels like.

Paramedic James Vine has rescued plenty of people from water

and understands the dangers.

'Against my better judgement, I'm taking the plunge.'

Oh!

God, it's freezing!

You're experiencing a process called cold shock.

You get the initial involuntary gasp of breath, hyperventilation,

and - I'm sure you're feeling it now -

your muscles are starting to feel weak and uncoordinated.

-How does it affect the way you deal with them?

-It makes things a lot more difficult.

It compounds the injuries they've already had and, being cold and wet,

you lose body heat 25% quicker than you would in the dry.

After just a couple of minutes in cold water, I've had enough.

And jumping into cold water is even more dangerous.

Tombstoning - leaping into cold water - is growing in popularity.

But today, one teenage tombstoner has been badly injured in the North York Moors.

Rachel Nicholson was jumping from rocks into a deep pool when she injured her back.

A ground ambulance crew have called in reinforcements.

I think it's more of a question of a problem with access to the place where somebody's fallen.

The ambulance crew won't be able to get to this patient, so maybe the air ambulance could help out.

The Yorkshire Dales are full of hazards for helicopters, and the crew are about to

-come across one of the oldest.

-We might have to hover over

-the field a bit, because the sheep are looking scared.

-OK.

OK, if there are any problems, let me know, OK?

..Trees to the rear.

With a little help from paramedic Colin, Helimed 99 is down.

I'm on the ground.

But finding the patient won't be easy.

Hiya, mate! Is the ambulance crew down there?

-Yes. Are you the air ambulance?

-Yeah, we are.

And the team know getting their patient to the chopper will be difficult.

We've come about 300 metres, over unsteady rocks and footholdings and things...

This person has got back injuries...a spinal board...

Looking up, we might winch this person up.

Rachel, who was tombstoning with friends, has been strapped to a spinal board,

a stretcher designed to prevent further damage to her back.

Despite the warm weather, and her wetsuit, she's cold.

We were up on the hill and we heard a scream,

so we shouted down to this gentleman and he said

he'd ring an ambulance. We came down and had a quick chat with her.

When the air ambulance crew arrives, patients usually know their ordeal

is nearly over. Not today. It'll be impossible to get Helimed 99

anywhere near the waterfall. They'll have to call in RAF Rescue.

If we can get up to that grassy little section where my blue bag is, we'll go straight up from there.

The RAF Sea King air-sea rescue helicopters can do something

Helimed 99 can't. Their winchman will be able to lift Rachel through the trees

and off to hospital. It won't be easy.

We are in the ravine, I don't know if you can see us

at the most central point. It's quite tight for tree cover.

'It looks possible.

'We're going to come in and do an overhead check to make sure.'

The tree cover is so thick, the RAF winchman has to walk to the waterfall.

But the team have identified a place where Rachel can be safely winched.

The RAF Sea Kings weigh six tonnes,

and their patients feel every pound of it,

thanks to the massive downdraft.

But walking Rachel out of the gorge could make her back much worse.

It may not feel it, but this hair-raising ride

is a lot safer.

In a few minutes, she'll be touching down at hospital.

It may not be the way Rachel expected her day to end,

but she won't be the first tombstoner to enjoy a one-way trip to A&E.

Five months after her ordeal, and I'm catching up with Rachel at home.

Rachel, you've got something to tell us about a day that started off

as a bit of fun but didn't end up that way for you. What happened?

As soon as I hit the water, I felt

a really sharp pain, like I'd been winded, but in my back.

It was like... I just screamed. I was in loads of pain.

I was really shocked when they said I'd broken my back and might need

an operation.

You didn't hit a rock or the bottom of the pool? It was simply

-the force of you hitting the water that broke your back?

-The angle

-that I went into...

-It was simply the angle that you hit the water...

-It was enough to break your back?

-Yes.

-Wow.

I don't think it's going to be right for a long time. I've always got to be conscious of it.

And Rachel isn't alone.

Every year, more than 110 people drown after accidentally falling into water in the UK.

But water doesn't have to be deep to be dangerous.

And today, one walker in the Yorkshire Dales is finding that out the hard way.

You can see the stepping stones on that side.

The casualty turns out to be an elderly rambler, who's taken a tumble off some steping stones.

Afternoon!

All right?

Fellow walkers have pulled him out, but he's too cold and weak to reach the bank.

-What's your name?

-Ron.

-What you doing in middle of t'river?

Trying to get across.

He fell in the river and I asked the lady if he was OK, then I came across

and he was in the water, so I pulled him out and then another gentleman came and helped.

Where did you fall - this way or that way?

I fell towards there.

The water is fast-flowing, and there are deep pools between the stones.

Have we got a line?

A line!

Thanks to a safety line made from one of the ropes used to tie down

the chopper's rotor blades at night, Ron's feeling a little safer.

-Who's your wife?

-The one in the blue dress.

-That pretty-looking one?

-Yes.

That's it. You're not going anywhere.

OK, Ron.

Ron's rescuers are taking a real risk, but they've got to get him to dry land.

Just remember you're tethered to me, Ron.

Their patient is exhausted, and they still don't know whether

he's injured from his fall.

Back where you started, Ron.

He's got halfway over, slipped into the river

to just below his waist, so he's severely cold.

Then he's not wanted to go either way, so it's a case of assisting him

back over to this side of the bank.

Nice and steady...and down.

He'll be taken for a check-up by land ambulance.

But sadly, there's not always a happy ending.

It's a sunny day, and hundreds of daytrippers are enjoying the sun at Bolton Abbey,

the waterside beauty spot near Leeds.

But many of them have become caught up in a life-and-death struggle to save a little boy.

There are two children in the water. They've found one girl.

The boy, they believe, is still missing.

Helimed 99 will take just 10 minutes to reach the scene.

The crew know that speed is the only thing that can save the missing boy.

'We've been called to Bolton Abbey, which is a lovely scenic area

'with a river running through it.

'Very popular at this time of year... families barbecue at the side of the river. Obviously,

'people go into the river itself. It's quite strong and fast-flowing in places.'

If he's recovered, paramedics Lee and Ben will use adrenalin to kickstart his heart.

But the doseage is crucial in kids.

'Ben?

'Yep.

-'Just running through for eight years... For adrenalin - 1 in 10,000 is 2.6.

-2.6 mil.

2.6 mil to restart after cardiac arrest.

Even from 1,000 feet, the desperate race to save the boy is obvious.

'Here we are, here we are.

'Yep. Come back round, Steve.

'There's still a lot of people in the water - can you see them?

-'About there?

-Yeah.

-'You see the corner?

-Yeah.

-We want to be in there somewhere.

'There's a barricade of people there.'

But pilot Steve faces a problem. Crowds are getting in the way of his best landing site.

-'That's OK this side.

-Yeah.

-OK.

'Put us down there, mate, yeah.'

Police have already taken control of the rescue.

There's plenty of the public looking. Um...

Until we find him, there's not really much for you lads to do.

This stretch of the River Wharfe is dangerous. Many people

have drowned here, but hundreds continue to swim, despite the warnings.

We're still looking at the moment. It's been 20 minutes gone, apparently. ..All right. OK. Thanks.

Bye. Bye.

The boy is just eight. He was here with his family celebrating his birthday.

It is 20 minutes since he vanished beneath the surface.

The team know there is still hope.

Children can be revived after long periods underwater,

especially if it's cold.

We're just getting stripped off a little bit. It obviously gets really warm.

Um...

Then we're going to put life jackets on.

Obviously, we're working near water here...

Our own safety is important.

The team are borrowing a heat-seeking camera from the fire brigade.

It's hoped they can spot a trace of the boy from the air.

I'll just have a check up the river, further downstream

where there's a natural barrier - there are some steps across.

We've got a thermal-imaging device.

Great stuff.

If we spot anything, we'll try and use that to see if we can see anything.

'Keep going... I think there are police down here anyway.'

But it is a hopeless task. The police and fire service rescue teams offer the best hope of rescue,

but they desperately need divers.

At last they arrive.

The local cave-rescue team are experts in this kind of rescue.

All the rescue services are here. We've been searching now for a long time, I think plus 60 minutes.

I was here myself only last week with my own children, as it was hot weather, playing in the water.

Sad all round, at the moment. As time goes on, the outcome doesn't look any better.

Despite frantic searching, there's no sign of the boy.

It's been more than two hours, and hope is running out.

Both Lee and Ben are dads themselves. They know what the boy's parents are going through,

but they also know time's run out. As the chopper lifts off, the boy is found, but it's too late.

Another victim of Yorkshire's wild water.

Do you remember the man whose leg had to be amputated after a farm accident? How's he getting on?

23-year-old Jason Winspear's leg was removed by a flying doctor

after a terrible accident with a combine harvester.

It was flown with him to hospital in Middlesbrough. Surgeons think there is a chance they can reattach it.

He then undergoes 10 hours of surgery.

It's 10 days since Jason's accident. His fiancee has stayed with him in hospital the whole time.

They tried to save my foot - that's why I was in theatre so long.

I were in for eight hours.

They tried to put my foot back on, but it was going to be too short.

A lot too short.

It got chewed up.

And it also got the stage where it had been a bit long by the time I got into theatre.

It was too late.

I daren't look at it. I've seen a photograph of it, and it's... I get distressed when I see it.

I daren't look at it, itself.

..Cos it's not nice.

They've done a very good job of it. It's really tidy and...

clean and...

The surgeons have done a really good job.

Jason still has vivid memories of the accident.

The machine got blocked up. Looking into it, you couldn't see

it was coming towards you, it was only coming slowly.

The next minute, the chains grabbed hold of my leg and pulled me into the knife and cut it straight off.

When I got here, he'd just landed in A&E, and I came in to see his leg in his welly,

by his bed, and I was like, "That is not a cut." I couldn't stop crying.

Then I got it together and saw you off before you went into theatre.

By the time spring comes to the North York Moors,

Jason's back on two legs and up for a walk down to the village,

even if his wedding is still a few months off.

He made remarkable progress, thanks to his new limb.

You start off with a basic leg, just to get you walking about.

After a while, they gave me a better one, a better ankle

-for walking over rough terrain.

-That's what you've always done and what you want to continue doing?

Yep. I want to get back to work as soon as possible, and get back to normal.

-You're looking at that as a realistic option in the near future, aren't you?

-Yes.

-I want to go back as soon as possible.

-You're not letting this stop you.

When Helicopter Heroes comes back,

there's a dramatic mountain rescue after a climber falls 40 feet.

Nice and steady, nice and slow...

Snow ruins a family Christmas as Grandma is flown to hospital.

It's either find their own transport or thumb a lift from Father Christmas.

There's a dash to save the driver of a car that's plunged into a canal.

No sign of any person, still investigating.

And a tot is burned by a mug of hot chocolate.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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