Episode 7 Helicopter Heroes

If you're seriously ill or critically injured, every second counts -

especially if you are 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...

A young mum is thrown 20 feet after a road accident, but the chopper can't land.

Stop, stop, stop, stop.

A veteran biker's badly hurt.

He's gone over, landed on this big slab here, so...

The gritters are out, but not on this road.

We'll put you on to a spinal board. We'll put you in the helicopter, OK?

And the call a young rugby player's mum didn't want to receive.

Oliver is going to be transported by an air ambulance, Mrs Moore.

Crossing the road is something most of us do every day

and it's easy to forget just how risky it can be.

But for a mum-of-two in Leeds, a trip to the shops

very nearly ended in tragedy.

On a suburban estate, a car has knocked down the mum pushing this buggy.

Her baby daughter, who stopped breathing for a time, is already on her way to hospital.

Her two-year-old son escaped injury, but Mum desperately needs a life-saving flight in Helimed 98.

Helimed 98, I've just had a call from Wakefield comms,

they have advised that West Yorkshire Police have closed the road, in order for you to be able to land.

But the landing site is too risky.

-There's a lot of wires over that junction, mate.

-Yeah.

I'm just having a look at this now, there's more wires here.

They've closed the road there for us to get on there.

They've closed the road off on my side now, but there's a lot of wires. They're good on this side now.

Stop, stop, stop.

-Stop. Thank you. There is a wire directly underneath us.

-Got it.

This is serious.

Even a phone cable can cause a crash.

Matt decides to land on some waste ground instead.

Even in built-up areas like this, the Helimed team usually find

somewhere to touch down, even if it means a jog to her patient for Sammy.

-This is her buggy.

-Yep.

-She's been on the road, crossing the road and she's been thrown by the car.

She's demolished this gate and ended up in the garden there.

Carrie Jagger is 35.

She tried to push the buggy carrying baby Scarlett and two year-old Maxwell

out of the way moments before the accident, but she herself was thrown more than 20 feet by the impact.

-Has anybody actually witnessed this?

-Not that we can see.

Local paramedics have already started treating Carrie.

Scarlett is on the way to hospital and Maxwell appears unhurt.

She had two children, both around about two years old, I think,

but in fairness, like I say, we weren't first on the scene.

How does that feel, that pain? Is that helping any?

Carrie's been lucky to survive.

Her arm is broken and the team believed she could have serious internal injuries.

Say you're expecting your fiancee who's coming in a helicopter and they can expect you there.

Carrie's boyfriend was at work when the accident happened.

The call from police is a shock.

There will be officers greeting you, but I will be turning up,

because I will be with your fiancee throughout, all right?

The police investigation into the accident is already underway.

Several neighbours heard Carrie's screams and ran to help.

Open your eyes again for me.

Five miles away at Leeds General Infirmary, the trauma team are already on standby.

The details of her injuries mean they can call in

the right specialist to examine her the minute she arrives in A&E.

We have got a 35-year-old female involved in an RTC.

She's got a fractured humerus and possibly chest injury.

GCS 15, we've got an ETA of roughly six minutes, over.

No wires around your tail now.

That's good, thank you.

Paramedic Kate used to work as an airline flight attendant.

Now she's in the cockpit helping pilot Matt save Carrie's life.

Now we're five POB, just lifting down to LGI.

In a few minutes, the extent of Carrie's injuries will become clear.

Internal injuries can be difficult to treat - and deadly.

Coming up... Carrie's badly hurt, but all she can think about is her baby.

I've heard babies crying, so I'm hoping they're all right.

An icy road is blamed for the accident that did this to a car.

We just come round the corner. The next thing I remember is just the back end slipped out.

And the 14-year-old who may be regretting taking up rugby.

Bless him, he love his sport.

Nobody wants to give up a hobby, but sometimes age makes you.

But there are some people who refuse to let their dates of birth force them to retire.

Trails riding is the art of conquering terrain on two wheels

and on top of the Pennines in Lancashire, some veterans of the sport are showing off their skills.

Most are even older than their bikes,

but one rider is about to require some very modern medical treatment.

-That bacon smells lovely, though.

-Don't it?

Back at the Helimed team's Sheffield base, it's breakfast time,

and paramedics Lee and Pete were looking forward to the full English, cooked by pilot Tim Taylor.

But it's not the eggs that are being scrambled this morning.

I'd just be having the captain's treat on a Sunday,

just cooked up breakfast and we were just ready

for dishing all that out, but we'd much rather be out flying.

Tim's cooking's not that great, anyway, so as a rule,

we enjoy jobs coming in at this time.

The rider has a suspected fractured pelvis and he could be bleeding internally.

A fracture to the pelvis is extremely serious

and you can los all your circulatory volume

into your pelvis, if that fractures.

The temperature down there in the Pennines is barely above freezing.

That could make the rescue even harder - hypothermia's a real risk.

You will see an RRV there when you get there.

It's managed to get down to the patient, but they've got an access problem getting them out, over.

Helimed 98, Roger. Many thanks.

The accident's happened in a disused quarry, but thanks to the organisers

the team have an accurate grid reference to head for.

Down right, two o'clock.

You can see them all sat there. Two cars and all.

The quarry is full of boulders and pits, and that's partly why

the organisers chose it, but there's a helpful official standing in the middle of the best landing site.

He soon gets the message.

All clear on left. You're all good, down right.

Trevor Taylor is 67.

He was climbing out of a deep gully when his bike toppled over backwards.

-His mate saw it happen.

-He's come down, and as he's come down here,

-it slipped and the bike's pinned him against...

-Yeah, I'm with you.

They've took the bike off.

The bike's OK, but its owner isn't.

He was coming down this bank here, you see. Just landed on this

big slab here, so... I think they'll sort him out.

Trevor's been lying in freezing water for more than half an hour.

He's fractured his femur, the biggest bone in the body.

-Have we tried to get some access and failed or...?

-Absolutely, no chance.

Totally shut down.

He's so cold they can't access a vein to give him morphine.

Not been able to get access at the moment

to give him any of the pain relief, so we're trying the gas and air and if need be we will go other methods.

Start taking this gas and just keep going.

I know it makes you feel really drunk, but we are going to start moving you.

They need to free Trevor and take him to hospital, but if his shattered thigh bone moves

-during the operation, it could sever vital blood vessels.

-Sharp scratch.

At last, Lee manages to get a line in to Trevor's vein.

Trevor's a retired teacher.

He had restored his 1962 vintage bike himself, but he's not going to be riding it any time soon.

We're all the same here.

Trevor feels privileged to be treated by the air ambulance crew.

We just arrive a bit posher, that's all, Trevor.

With the temperature so low, speed is vital.

Once we get this pain relief started and working in your, we're going to straighten this right leg,

which is going to be really uncomfortable, and we are going to put a girdle

around your waist, in case your pelvis feels a bit...

It's pains up in his right hip.

It's difficult to straighten his leg. Making sure he gets plenty of pain relief before we move him,

cos it'll be really uncomfortable for Trevor.

-Suck up that Entonox for me, cos this is going to sting a bit.

-Nice long, deep breaths.

Just going to straighten your leg, pal.

Just relax your knee for me, Trevor.

Take the gas and air, Trevor. Gas and air.

Good man, well done, Trev.

Done fantastic, there, pal.

And you're OK moving your foot and everything, aren't you, Trevor?

He's got a nice pulse in his foot.

Trevor's condition is stable, but the crew know that with injuries like his, that could soon change.

Surgeons are already scrubbing up at Blackburn Royal Infirmary to operate on his badly damaged leg.

-Well done, Trevor.

-Well done, Trevor.

Nice deep breaths on that.

Right, I've got him.

Coming up, Trevor's in a bad way, but there's something else on his mind.

I bet you were thinking about your bike more than you.

Surgeons prepare to operate on the young mum knocked down and thrown 20 feet.

And a player's badly hurt after a freak footballing accident.

He's headed it out, another lad's gone to head the ball and they've cracked heads.

When it comes to hazards on the road, black ice is one of the worst.

You can't see it, but it can kill.

It's Britain's worst winter for 30 years, and the gritters are out in force.

But inevitably, some roads get missed, with tragic consequences.

A car has skidded out of control on black ice just outside Bolton

in Lancashire, and passenger Alison Walsh needs airlifting to hospital.

We're the nearest.

There is another aircraft out at Blackpool,

but we are probably nearer to it than they are.

It is out of the ordinary everyday area that we cover, but it's still within our remit to cover that area.

Alison's husband Mark was driving. He's walked away without a scratch.

The couple run a fitness studio and were on their way to work when the accident happened.

Two metres.

No boulders.

Two feet.

Hi, Alison. How you doing? Don't nod, just blink or speak to me.

We're going to put you on to a spinal board.

-I'm going to put you in the helicopter. Are you OK with that?

-Mmm-hmm.

During the crash, Alison banged her head on the roof of the car.

Although she has no visible injuries,

her head and neck are aching and it's important that she's checked out at hospital as soon as possible.

CHATTER OVER RADIO

Clear at fences, mate. Short wires to t'left.

The fact that Alison and Mark were in a large, modern car

and were wearing seat belts probably saved their lives.

When you look at the damage sustained and the fact that they're in trees,

come to rapid deceleration, it's just testament

to modern car design and the safety features that people can still survive these type of collisions.

At Blackburn Hospital, Alison will learn that although she hasn't done any lasting damage,

she won't be fit to do any training for several weeks.

What I want you to do for me is you're going to step forwards.

We're going to land on the heel, and I want you to turn towards the knee.

A month later, back at the fitness studio in Lancaster, husband Mark is still holding the fort.

-Hi, are you OK, there?

-I'm just inquiring about membership.

Alison can man the front desk, but she's still not able to go into the gym.

'I got thrown around in the car, and when I got hit,

'apparently what happens is'

because your brain obviously bounces around, it swells,

and the inside of my head's swollen,

and I've got quite a large lump

on the side of my head as well.

It's just waiting now for the swelling to go down,

and then obviously keep getting checked

and just make sure it's OK, but hopefully, fingers crossed,

the headaches should start going soon

and hopefully the swelling will start coming down.

The road itself, you couldn't see anything on it,

it looked clean, the hills next to it were slightly frosty.

We came round the corner and then the next thing I remember

is the back end slipped out, and that was it, then.

We went into the trees, windscreen cracked so you couldn't see anything.

I remember the windscreen smashing, and that's really about it.

And then I just saw the roof of the car come towards me, and that's kind of all I remember.

And then I just remember waking up...

You'd got me out of the car, hadn't you, and I just woke up on the side of the road.

Although their fitness business has suffered, Mark and Alison know they've both been incredibly lucky.

I still, to this day, to be honest, don't know how Alison got out with what she did,

because you look at the car, we've looked at the photos,

and it's just horrific, isn't it, what state the car was.

We don't really do it justice, do we, being able to...

-We feel very lucky.

-Yeah, we do.

Coming up, biker Trevor's injuries could lead to a lifelong disability,

-but he's made up his mind about one thing.

-No more trails bikes.

And a teenager's in agony, but Mum can't resist a souvenir snapshot.

Let's get back to the scene of the accident that's left a baby

fighting for survival and a mother seriously injured.

Young mum Carrie Jagger's just touched down on the roof of Leeds General Infirmary.

Half an hour ago, she was walking to the local shops with her baby and toddler

when she was knocked down by a car whilst crossing the road.

Her children are on the way to hospital by land ambulance, but Mum is seriously injured.

This stretcher doesn't spin out, gentlemen,

so just bring it right up.

Paramedics Kate and Sammy fear Carrie has severe internal injuries, as well as a broken arm.

There you are, darling. Well done. You're doing fantastic.

She's going into A&E now, and get a doctor to have a look at her.

All Carrie cares about is her children, but they're both

in safe hands and doctors know that, for once, Mum must be the priority.

I've heard babies crying, so I'm hoping they're all right.

This is the trouble when you get a lot of people in from a trauma.

You have to concentrate on your patient and try to not get distracted.

Carrie was thrown 20 feet, and that's what's worrying the medical team.

They will X-ray her chest to determine how seriously she's hurt.

Don't really know the extent of her injuries yet,

but she's going to need X-rays, and we'll really take it from there.

Although Carrie's chest wasn't crushed, her list of injuries was extensive.

She broke both her legs, her pelvis, her back, her neck and her right ankle.

Her arm was crushed and her shoulder blade broke through her skin.

She also had a lacerated liver.

It was four weeks before she could leave hospital,

and several more before she felt confident enough to leave the house.

This is the first time she's been back to the scene of the accident.

I'm not sure there was any unconsciousness.

I think I just blocked it from my mind because of the pain,

so that's why I don't remember.

I remember screaming out and asking for the kids

and they brought the kids to me as I was lying in the garden

to show me that they were OK.

Three months on and Carrie is still undergoing physiotherapy.

She will be living with the consequences of that terrible day for the rest of her life.

If we start off with the exercise that you was asking about on the way through...

I'm really conscious of my arm and my leg. All the time I can feel them.

Before, I'd never thought about it, that you just don't feel your limbs,

you're just used to them being there.

Just reaching straight forward and letting your shoulder blades go with you.

I just really, really want to be normal again.

Really want to be normal. I'm fed up of it now.

I want to wake up one day and it not be there.

-Is that it, is that the movement?

-Yeah.

In A&E they told me that I'd never be able to raise my right arm above 90 degrees,

and in my first physio session, lying on my back, I was able to lift my arm right above my head.

Carrie's two-year-old son, Maxwell, was completely unhurt,

but what Carrie didn't know until later was how close she came to losing her baby daughter Scarlett.

A team of people helped save Scarlett,

but one woman in particular, passer-by Sarah Field, played a vital role.

All Caroline wants to do now is say thank you to her.

Coming up, Carrie meets the passer-by who saved her daughter's life.

And the result doesn't matter any more, as a footballer is badly injured.

Trevor Taylor's a pensioner, but you'd never know it.

For a start, how many granddads do you know who go off-road biking?

But he's just had an accident that could bring his days in the saddle to an end.

High in the Pennines, Helimed 98 has been scrambled to a veteran motorcyclist

who's shattered his leg after coming off his machine at a trials event.

Ready, steady, lift. Don't move straight away, just nice and steady.

Trevor Taylor could also have broken his pelvis, but his 1962 vintage bike is almost undamaged.

We can't rule that out, because of the nature of the fall, so he has got a pelvic splint applied.

You were thinking about your bike more than you.

Now Trevor's on his way for surgery at hospital in Blackburn.

He knows that, after a lifetime of teaching, he's about to miss a very important date.

I'm going to Loughborough University in a fortnight to get my degree.

-I'm going to get an honorary degree.

-Congratulations.

I don't think I'm going to be going!

-All clear left. Just that windsock.

-Cheers, right.

Trevor's been riding bikes like this since his teens.

But his motor-sport days could now be behind him.

He's in his late 60s, and he's about to undergo major surgery.

Whether he'll walk with a limp for the rest of his life

depends on surgeons at the Royal Blackburn Hospital.

But luck's on Trevor's side, and less than a week later,

he's well enough to sit up in bed and chat with one of his biking buddies.

I started riding 40 years ago, in competitions.

The bike whacked my leg against a sloping boulder.

And with some force.

I let go of it, and it careered off.

And I crumpled on the floor. And I knew I'd hurt meself.

I remember, in the helicopter,

he kept putting his hand on my shoulder and squeezing it.

Saying, "You're going to be OK." It's really reassuring, that.

It sounds a little thing, but you don't forget, do you?

I broke my femur in two places.

Quite near to the joint, you know, the ball joint.

They've now put what's called the dynamic pin in it, I don't know what that is!

But I realise that it's holding me together.

And it means you can put all your weight on your leg more or

less straight away, and you don't have to have a plaster cast on it.

So I'll be walking out of the place, you know, within a few days I hope.

Brilliant! But no more trials bikes!

And Trevor's as good as his word.

Within a few days, his 1962 vintage bike is sold.

But it takes more than a broken femur to keep a born biker down.

Trevor's switched back to road bikes.

I decided, whilst I was still in the hospital,

and I've stuck to that decision, that I will not be doing any more competitive trials riding.

After five months, I'm walking around again quite well.

I've even started to get back on the bikes again.

But only on the road!

Trevor reckons his collection of vintage road bikes, all hand-restored,

will keep him busy until he finally decides to hang up his leathers.

It's a bit like a drug in a way. You sort of get this in your system, and you don't want to give it up.

Coming up. Thanks for saving my baby's life.

An emotional meeting for Carrie.

Around 275,000 of us attend A&E every year with a sporting injury.

It doesn't matter if you're a professional,

like the rugby players here at Doncaster Knights, or if you just enjoy a kickabout,

there's always a chance of getting hurt.

It's Sunday morning, and across Britain footballers are battling it out in Sunday League games.

And it's proving to be a busy Sunday for Helimed98.

They're about to leave the scene of a car crash when they get another call

about an incident just down the road.

'On a football pitch, a patient with a head injury.

'Crew requested, over.'

Received, thank you. We've got another job about a mile away.

Playing pitches, male, head injury.

16-year-old.

238, Sierra Echo.

-So due south from here, then.

-OK, Mike. When you're ready.

By the time they get to the football pitch, the injured player is already on a land ambulance ready to go.

It happened when two players went for a high ball, and their heads collided.

One of them has cracked his temple.

The ball went through over the top and the keeper's come out.

It was out of the area, so he couldn't touch it with his hands.

So he's gone up to head it out.

The other lad's gone to head the ball as well, and they've cracked heads together.

Really banged heads, and they've both of them fallen over. Pretty bad.

That's it, Tom. All right, Tom, we're walking up to the aircraft.

When paramedics Sammy and Ben see

the dent in Tom Hurst's skull, they have no doubt that he needs to be flown to hospital.

We saw it go over the top, but we thought it might have been for somebody else, so

we were pretty pleased when it came for him.

Have you got a headache at all?

As Tom is flown to the specialist neurosurgical unit at Leeds General Infirmary,

the ambulance originally meant for him will take the goalkeeper he collided with to another hospital.

Unusually, both paramedics are with Tom in the back of the helicopter.

But they're extremely concerned, because his Glasgow Coma Scale,

or GCS, which is used to assess a patient's condition, is dropping dangerously low.

During the flight, his GCS has lowered a little bit, which is to be expected sometimes

with a depressed skull fracture, as pressure is put on the brain.

So, potentially deteriorating is this patient, so we need to get him downstairs as quickly as we can.

It's quite a significant depressed skull fracture. You can see it very visibly.

The land crew on scene have made a good call in getting us out straight away.

He is holding his own, but he has got a marked skull depression,

it actually goes in when it shouldn't do.

It isn't until Tom is taken

into surgery that it becomes clear just how serious his head injury is.

And what an important role the air ambulance played in saving his life.

I just got a text saying Tom was going to be taken to hospital.

I just asked what hospital, and they said it was Dewsbury Hospital he was going to.

I've gone into A&E, and there's no sign of him whatsoever.

It seemed like a lifetime. When I phoned again, they were all shouting

that the air ambulance was here.

And it was just like, you know, I just lost it.

I had to have my skull cut and taken out.

And all fragments that were

cracked taken out as well.

And then they put four plates in, and put my bit of skull back in.

If I'd have gone in the normal ambulance, the bits of cracked skull would have pierced my membrane,

so I'd have been either paralysed or worse.

When Tom came round from surgery, he felt completely normal.

He couldn't remember the accident and didn't need any medication.

The cut starts here. It goes all the way around.

And it comes all the way back down here.

You can actually run your fingers across his scar.

He's got a plate there, a plate here.

He's got four plates altogether that just run round.

I can't remember how many staples you had in?

-27.

-27 staples put in.

Almost six months after smashing his skull, Tom is desperate to get back

on the pitch as a striker for Overthorpe Town.

His doctor has agreed he can play, so long as he wears protective

headgear usually worn by rugby players.

It's a tense moment for his mum.

I don't like it at all, but it's what he wants to do.

He enjoys it, so I've got to let him do it, haven't I?

But he's back with all his mates now, so he'll be enjoying himself.

But it's nice to see him back on his feet and running around with them all again.

It's just nerve-racking for me.

This way, Tom! This way!

Tom was only brought on for the last 10 minutes, but that's probably

enough just six months after a fractured skull.

'It's ace. I can't believe that it's so soon.

'In hospital, I didn't think I'd be able to play again.'

WHISTLE

Sadly, his team lost 2-1.

But Tom's just glad to be back playing the game he loves.

Once you're hooked on a sport like rugby, it's really hard to give it up.

And no matter how many times some players are injured, they still keep coming back for more.

When the flying paramedics get a call to a rugby field,

there's a good chance the player has a head injury.

25% of rugby injuries involve concussion.

It's just the far side of that village, mate.

Today, the Helimed98 team are on their way to Dinnington,

near Sheffield, where a young rugby player has been knocked unconscious after being tackled by two players.

-Got the H on the left?

-Got visual, yes.

Just got all the stanchions, haven't you? And the posts.

You're clear left.

During the tackle, 19-year-old Josh Valente was lifted into the air, but he landed on his head.

Apparently he's been tackled by two guys, and he's gone down and twisted.

He was out cold for four minutes.

Now his neck is hurting, and there's something wrong with his arm.

Just tell me again where your pain is now.

-HE MUMBLES

-Your neck? OK.

If I just go down your back, and as I go down your back, don't nod

or shake your head, just to tell me if you have any more pain other than what you've already described. OK?

-Any pain there at all? Pardon?

-No.

-No?

This is the second time Josh has been knocked out during a rugby match.

-All right, Josh.

-Do you want to go a bit further?

Getting Josh on to the stretcher is a tricky manoeuvre.

The paramedics have to keep his neck completely still.

Now then, we're going to have to put a collar on, which is going to be very uncomfortable.

And you know, because you're an ideal rugby player, with a nice,

squat neck, it's going to be hard to fit one on properly.

But we need to get it on, all right?

Just one minute. That's it.

When you're in agony like this, a seven-minute flight

can seem like seven hours.

Relax for us now. We can give you something else for that pain.

Paramedic Pete Vallance is fairly certain that Josh hasn't done

permanent damage to his spine, but he can't take any chances.

Squeeze my fingers for me.

Go on, a bit tighter than that, you're a rugby player. Great stuff.

Can you feel me touching your legs?

I wouldn't do that if he weren't strapped down, though, he's too big to be messing about with,

isn't he? You've always got to err on the side of caution with any sort of rugby injury.

He's landed on his head, and he's a big lad.

When Josh gets to hospital, he'll discover that,

although his muscles and ligaments are very badly bruised, he hasn't broken anything.

He'll have to take six weeks off work to recover, but he's determined to carry on playing rugby.

The most common sporting injury is a twisted or broken ankle.

But some rugby injuries can be life-threatening.

At professional rugby games, there's always a doctor on standby, and they have to have special training.

Andy Smith is responsible for training pitch-side doctors.

We've educated the coaches, the managers, not just the medical staff.

Even the players go through some education,

to understand the injuries. What to do when there's an injury.

They know to keep still until we've done our assessments.

But we're now identifying injuries more acutely,

more efficiently, and delivering care as required.

So, are these extreme injuries frequent or are they very rare?

If you look at the number of people playing rugby,

in England, we've got 400,000 adults playing.

1.2 million schoolchildren playing.

If you look at the spinal injury rate, which is 0.8 per 100,000,

we're looking at 3-4 spinal injuries at the most per year.

Catastrophic for that individual,

and it's important that we know how to manage that injury,

get them to secondary care, but we've got to keep it in perspective.

The most dangerous part of a rugby match is travelling

to and from the game in your car.

Hands up, hands up, hands up!

Oliver, hands up!

You don't have to be playing professional rugby to get hurt on the pitch.

Games teacher Pete Latham and the boys at Prince Henry's Grammar School

in Otley near Leeds, take their sport extremely seriously.

OK. A good 20 minutes there. We're going to go into tackling now.

Helimed 98 over scene, over.

Today, paramedic Sammy Wills is about to swoop

to the rescue of a teenager injured while playing for the school team.

Oliver Moore's hurt his neck. It's not good news for Mum.

Oliver is going to be transported by an air ambulance, Mrs Moore.

Yes, because he's so far from the ambulance up on the car park.

Only the paramedics seen to be taking Oliver's injury seriously.

And that includes the patient.

He's all very excited, and he's smiling.

His friends are having a bit of a giggle as well.

So far his career is not going so well,

because last year he hurt his neck and ended up in hospital.

Because of that, this time, we're playing it safe

and the crew have already collared and longboarded him.

Because he's got the same again.

Does this feel worse than last time or not as bad as last time?

-About the same.

-About the same.

OK, that's good.

Oliver's been given pain-killing gas, and he'll soon be in hospital.

Even schoolboy rugby players are encouraged to shrug off minor injuries.

But sporting accidents can often lead to a lifetime's disability.

OK, a very strong northwesterly breeze again, so we'll come in from

a left-hand descending turn, will be the plan.

Oliver's touching down at Harrogate Hospital.

He's not been knocked out, and even when he was on the ground,

he was then pile-drived by some of his friends.

And it turns out that he's once again been lucky.

Oliver's neck injury is minor, and he's soon back on the pitch.

When you get as close to the action on a rugby pitch as this,

you can appreciate the power of a professional rugby tackle.

When two of these guys collide, it's the equivalent of two cars crashing at speed.

But even junior players can do some real damage.

Helimed 98 has been scrambled to Easingwold School in North Yorkshire,

where a bone-crushing tackle has left a teenager

with a potentially life-threatening injury.

The blood supply has been cut off

or infringed, and obviously it could play a part

for the rest of his life. You never know.

So we'll just have to have a look and make sure it's not too badly injured. It might be dislocated.

It could be broken.

-It's there, Chris.

-Yes.

Tall trees to the side of it. Area's good.

14-year-old Tanawat Lomtong is in agony.

Another player fell on top of him during a tackle, forcing his hip out of its socket.

-Hello, Mum.

-Hi.

-How are we doing, chief?

-Fine.

All right, we're going to give you some pain relief.

Tanawat moved to the UK from Thailand four years ago to join his mum.

-How old are you, Tan?

-14.

14? I was 14 when I was your age.

-Are you married?

-No.

Now he's in the care of paramedic Colin Jones, the joker of the Helimed team.

His stepfather is a medic in the RAF,

and when he heard the helicopter landing, he thought his dad was coming to rescue him.

Are you taking a picture? Are you going to put it on YouTube?

Good heavens, you're going to be famous.

But his mum's lending a hand.

That bottle at the side of you, can you just give it a shake?

Mum is shaking the bottle which contains the painkiller Entonox for a good reason.

In cold weather, the gas and air separate and need to be mixed up together again.

Plenty of it, Tan.

Big, deep breaths.

There you go, fella.

We'll go to Herogitty. Really?

Harrogate? Is that all right, mum?

Yeah. Have you got room for me to fit in there?

We can have a look, and have a word with the pilot.

-Thank you.

-I'm sure we'll be able to fit you in, if you can go on the roof rack. Is that all right?

You might get a bit dizzy!

Even though Tanawat isn't complaining about neck pain, it's important not to take any chances.

Neck and back injuries are common in rugby.

I know it's a really silly question, but if you had to give it a score between nought and ten,

nought is nothing and ten is the worst ever pain you've ever had, what would you give it?

-Five.

-Five?

-That an improvement.

A 14-year-old lad who had been playing rugby got tackled.

The other lad fell on top of him, and he had a lot of pain in the top of his right femur, his right hip.

A lot of pain. Whether it's dislocated or fractured, his femur,

we don't know. We'll get to hospital and find out.

Mum can't resist taking a photo.

For him, when he can see after.

He's just starting training.

But bless him, he loves his sport.

The biggest concern with a dislocation like this is that

blood supply to the leg gets cut off, with potentially fatal results.

Luckily, this doesn't seem to have happened in Tanawat's case.

The way that he's holding his leg, it appears that he might have dislocated

the upper part of his leg, really. It's difficult to tell,

but that's classic for a dislocated hip.

Hopefully, obviously after an X-ray, the doctors will be able to

relocate it and it relieve a lot of the pain.

Obviously that's the biggest thing at the moment, the pain he's in.

I think the circulation's really good.

So that's not necessarily an issue, but obviously he's in quite a bit of

pain because it's out of the socket that it should be in, really.

The trip to hospital takes minutes, and the team at Harrogate

are standing by so Tanawat can go straight into surgery.

He's normally fit and well, no medical problems?

-He doesn't have to go to the doctor for anything?

-No.

-Good.

Good, good.

After an operation to reset his hip, Tanawat was allowed home.

He's still keen to play rugby, but perhaps not surprisingly, he says he prefers football.

I'm pleased to say that a growing knowledge of the risks sportsmen face means

the accidents that landed those patients in an air ambulance are getting rarer.

Now, remember Caroline Jagger, the mum who was knocked down near her home?

She has a lot of people to thank for her recovery, and the fact that her baby survived a serious accident.

Well, today, she's about to meet one of them.

Carrie Jagger was knocked down by a car as she tried to cross the road

with her two young children in a buggy.

Carrie took the brunt of it.

She was thrown 20 feet in the air, and suffered multiple injuries,

including a broken back, two broken legs

and a crushed arm.

What about building a castle?

Carrie's two-year-old, Maxwell, escaped unhurt,

but her baby daughter Scarlett was catapulted out of the buggy on the pavement.

She had a lacerated liver.

She had fractured ribs, and she had a fractured pelvis.

And it was just at the time when she was starting to stand unaided...

-Mummy.

-Yes, darling?

And starting to walk around.

So she couldn't land on her bum for fear of doing more damage to her

liver and her pelvis, which was difficult at the stage she was at.

-Mummy.

-Yes, darling?

But, as you see, she's made a full recovery,

and she's walking completely independently now.

She's too young to be affected by it.

Mother of two Sarah Field was driving past when the accident

happened, and saw Scarlett being propelled out of her pushchair.

She just came flying out of the buggy, into the air,

and landed near the front of my car.

It was a horrific scene to see.

And I just gave the little girl a few mouth-to-mouth breaths. I had

no response, so I did it again,

and that's when she actually came round and started crying.

Open the door, then. That's it.

Pull it. Say hello.

-Hello.

-Hiya.

Come on, Maxwell.

Carrie wants to say thank you to Sarah for saving her daughter's life.

And today she's getting that chance.

(SOBBING) Thank you.

-Sorry!

-You're setting me off now.

-I'd do it again.

-Do you want her?

Yeah, definitely. Come here.

Come on, darling.

Hello! Hello, sweetheart.

You look a lot better now, don't you? Eh? Don't you?

Her face was blue.

Her eyes were rolling back into her head.

And you could see she was trying to breathe and nothing was happening, was it? Was it, darling?

It's the first time Sarah has seen Scarlett since giving her the kiss of life.

Sarah says meeting Carrie and Scarlett has helped to get over the trauma of what happened.

Now they're planning to keep in touch.

When Helicopter Heroes comes back, there's an accident in the woods,

and a man suffers his second fractured skull.

Has it left you with a dented skull, anyway?

A pedestrian is fighting for her life, but Helimed 98 is struggling to reach her.

Can you wave those people off?

It's fun in the snow, but one teenager discovers the downside of sledging.

We went under some barbed wire, and she cut all her neck.

And a building worker is run over by an eight-ton digger.

We've got to be so careful with him.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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