Episode 12 Helicopter Heroes

If you're seriously ill or critically injured up here,

your life is in real danger.

Complaining of severe pain.

Mid 30s, been ejected from a vehicle.

Hospital's an hour away by road and speed is the only thing that can save you.

Roger. Helimed 99's en route. Over.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance and its highly trained paramedics are scrambled 1,000 times a year.

"What's happened?"

"A child's been on the path and a wagon's ran over him."

Many of its ex-military pilots flew the SAS into action.

That's not a suitable landing site. This one here is.

Welcome to the life-and-death world of the Helicopter Heroes.

Today on Helicopter Heroes...

A builder's trapped in a trench

and tons of unstable earth are threatening to engulf him.

The ground around him has already collapsed.

He's trapped by his left leg.

This trucker's trapped in his cab

and the paramedics are worried.

Let's just get him out.

There's a tricky rescue operation to save a teenager who fell down a cliff.

Alice, bring your arms into your body.

..a cloud of dust going up in the air.

And there's another victim of the deadly road bikers can't resist.

What's your name?

Building workers live with the risks of the job,

and they're never in more danger than when digging foundations.

Just one cubic metre of earth weighs one-and-a-half tons

and that's more than enough to crush a man to death.

The building business is one of the UK's most dangerous industries

and when there's a site accident, all the emergency services know

the injuries are likely to be serious.

Today, paramedics Lee Davison and Sammy Wills are heading south

to a patient who's trapped and in real danger.

We're going down to a detail at South Yorkshire

where we believe there's been a building that's collapsed,

which has trapped what we believe is one patient

in what they describe as an eight-foot trench.

The accident happened in the middle of a housing estate

in the commuter village of Stannington, near Sheffield.

"There's a little gate. You can just run down the road and then right."

Pilot Andy Lister can't get his team as close as he'd like.

-"That's going to be an interesting job."

-"Only if somebody's injured."

Labourer Josh Delaney is trapped up to his chest by tons of earth.

Fire-fighters are battling to release him,

but they know more of the eight-foot-deep trench could give way at any time.

-To me, it's only that corner that's going to drop away.

-Yes.

BOTH TALK AT ONCE

He and his boss were building an extension when the trench gave way.

The rain last night's brought it in.

He weren't supposed to be down there.

-No neck pain, but we've collared him anyway.

-OK.

The only thing he's saying is, he can't feel his feet.

They've got a male that's trapped down here in this trench.

He's trapped about nine foot down. There's quite a bit of earth and clay on him.

Lee wants to get Helimed 99 as close to the scene as possible

in case there's a further collapse.

Try and get the road secured so that nobody else comes down.

Land on that junction that Andy pointed out, which is right near the incident.

-They're going to try and land here.

-Where?

-On the junction. I'm just trying to clear these cars.

-Shall I go further down?

-Go further down the hill, that'd be great. Cheers.

-Do you think we'll be all right there?

-Orange does stand out well, doesn't it?

There's that little silver car, but we'll be far enough away from it.

They probably couldn't find the owner.

We'll try and get on this junction. It's quite tight.

Ladies! Do you want to go in and shut the door? We're going to put the helicopter on the ground!

Pilot Andy Lister's an ex-naval officer

who used to land choppers on the decks of ships.

I wouldn't want to veer left much more.

Putting down three tons of helicopter in a suburban cul-de-sac calls for the same skills.

I've got a stanchion there. I'm not going to go any more.

With Lee's help, Andy's earning his flying pay today.

The rotor blades are feet from walls and lampposts.

But at last, Helimed 99 is down...

Brilliant, Andy. Well played.

..to the relief of everyone, including the pilot.

We don't often land on suburban streets in a domestic environment like this.

Fortunately, one paramedic is familiar with helicopter operations,

being a commercial pilot himself.

We did have a look at the scene when we first came over, so although it's quite tight,

when you get down, invariably there's always a bit more room than you've got,

in fact, it's about on the limits, but it'll be fine here.

Back in the trench, Josh is being kept calm by fire-fighters and a paramedic.

Even though numbness in his legs is his only symptom,

it could be very serious.

Crush injuries can be lethal.

He's about nine feet down at the moment, in water,

with a clay type of earth on top of him,

covering, I think, the lower part of his body, from his tummy downwards,

so trapping his lower limbs.

So at the moment, they're working to try and get him free,

but you've got to try and make the rest of the area safe to be able to do that.

We're prepped up if you needed to use us.

An Ambulance Service flying doctor has been called in to advise the team.

Dave Macklin is a former A&E doctor who's going to help monitor Josh's condition.

This is Josh, 20 years old.

-Been digging this trench and it came down on him. He couldn't stop it.

-OK.

No loss of consciousness.

He feels he's trapped by his left leg.

Josh. I'm Dave, I'm a doctor with the Ambulance Service.

Where were you when the ground collapsed?

-I looked up and the next minute, I saw the whole side come.

-OK.

Is that all right there? Rest on blue.

It's all right, mate, don't worry.

It's just a very sharp scratch, OK?

This tube allows the team to give Josh fluids directly into his blood stream

if his condition deteriorates,

and there's already one new worrying sign.

In terms of spinal immobilisation, he's now got lower-back pain.

The collapse could've injured his spine.

But secretly, fire-fighters are more concerned about the security of the earth in front of Josh.

If it gives way, he will be crushed.

With a population of over five million people to cover

and only two air ambulances to scramble,

the helimed dispatchers have to be careful

which emergencies they choose to send a helicopter to.

And sometimes, priorities change.

The winter weather has hit Yorkshire hard

and hit its rural communities even harder.

Everyone's struggling to get anywhere,

and with many roads impassable,

even the emergency services are finding it hard to get about.

But the snow causes less of a problem for the Air Ambulance

and so the crew of Helimed 99 help with those difficult-to-reach jobs in the Dales.

-Oh, dear!

-It's all right, love.

A 98-year-old has fallen down the stairs in her remote farmhouse.

You've fallen down the stairs.

While the helicopter crew is happy to help,

they're still on call, should there be a more urgent need for their skills.

And that's exactly what's happening.

There's a wagon off the road at Addingham.

Paramedics hate to leave their patients, but James knows the lorry crash sounds serious.

"Just got it as a male, in his 40s, with a head injury."

So the land ambulance crew are going to continue to care for their elderly patient

and Helimed 98 are off.

-Where's the actual job?

-Er, it's just south-east of Addingham.

Just on the road between Ilkley and Addingham.

Sounds like a more serious incident's come in.

We've assisted the crew

and they're happy to deal with the lady, take her to hospital.

But reports have come in that there's a wagon come off the road,

patient's got a head injury, still trapped at present,

so we'll send our resources that way and see what assistance we can give.

Mechanic Brian Feather has lost control of the lorry he was driving in the icy conditions.

He's crossed the road for no apparent reason,

mounted the offside footpath and come down into this wooded bank.

-He said he was suffering from pain.

-Down that side.

-He was talking? He wasn't lucid?

-No, he was talking.

-No problem.

Just a bit dazed and confused at the minute.

Now trapped in his cab, it's proving difficult for anyone to treat him.

-I can't get in to...

-You can't get on the other side?

Although he's been talking, he's quickly becoming unresponsive.

James knows he needs to act fast.

You can squeeze someone through that window. I don't mind having a try.

-Can you squeeze through?

-Can you not climb over him?

If you get cutters on this wing mirror, we can get in through the back.

James forces his way between the trees and the crumpled lorry to reach his patient.

Just crush me, lads!

It could be risky, but there are few options. Brian's treatment must come first.

-Brian!

-Brian!

-The ambulance, what's happened?

Brian, can you tell him what you told me?

Brian!

With accidents like this, the paramedics have two choices,

either they can take their time to make sure they get their patient out safely,

or if the situation's serious, get him out and to hospital quickly.

And as Brian's becoming unconscious, James makes that difficult decision.

Brian!

All right, lads, we won't mess about. Let's just get him out.

Rushing to get a patient out of a situation like this

could cause him further injuries.

But taking too long could cost him his life, and time is running out.

Brian!

Brian!

Psychologists will tell you that teenagers' brains are different from adults',

and not just in the obvious ways.

One of the key differences is how they perceive danger

and that's why risk-taking often lands them in the care of the Helimed team.

On a hillside in West Yorkshire, a major rescue operation is under way

after a teenage girl tripped and fell 30 feet down a cliff face.

Helimed paramedic Pete Vallance and flying doctor Steve Rowe are about to join it.

-Hi.

-They're up there, the team leader.

There's three other paramedics up there and a DMA.

Although it's quite steep, it's loose underfoot.

There's a lot of loose stones

and it's easy for someone to fall and injure themselves.

It's going to mean a tricky climb up a rocky slope to reach 13-year-old Alice Bell,

who was enjoying a day off school with friends

when she fell from these rocks.

She's badly bruised and dazed.

Are you thinking of doing a hand-over-hand?

No, we're going to walk it down.

-OK.

-Just in case somebody loses their footing.

Local fire-fighters and the Ambulance Service's specialist rescue team

have been trying to comfort Alice.

Now Pete and Steve are taking over her treatment.

Alice, bring your arms into your body, sweetheart.

Alice, bring your arms into your body.

She's moving herself, but she won't move by anybody else.

-Keep your arms in.

-SHE GROANS

They've had to leave Helimed 98 in the nearest available landing site,

nearly half a mile away.

Alice, relax. Take some nice steady breaths. You're all right. You've had a fall.

-My dogs will wonder about me.

-Who will?

-My dogs.

-You'll be fine by tomorrow.

The accident's happened only a few hundred yards from Alice's home on the outskirts of Dewsbury.

She's in pain and Pete suspects she may have fractured her pelvis. She's very confused.

-Where do you live, love?

-What do you mean?

-Where's your house?

-SLURRED SPEECH

OK. Good girl.

Listen, guys! I don't want seven or eight different voices. When we move, Chris is in charge.

It's time to move Alice. Her rescuers know one trip could result in a serious accident.

Are we all ready for lifting?

Alice, we're going to take you to hospital to be checked out.

-Do I have to?

-I'm afraid you do! You've bumped your head and your legs, as well.

Doctor Steve's an experienced mountain rescue volunteer.

He normally treats climbers who have come off remote rock faces.

Today, his skills are going to be vital

for a patient in the heart of a housing estate.

Alice, how are you doing, my love? Are you OK?

She's got a lot of pain around her pelvis.

She's sustained a head injury, which we're not sure of the severity of.

She looks like she's had a period of unconsciousness. As such, we'll take her into LGI.

Now that Alice is down and safe, there's considerable relief.

Despite 50 emergency service workers,

this wasn't a routine rescue.

How are you feeling now?

-Sore.

-Sore?

Do you know you're having a fly in a helicopter?

INDISTINCT SPEECH

I fell over on my skates on my face the other day,

-so it's painful on my face.

-Right.

-You've bumped your right cheek tonight. Or today.

-How delightful.

Yes! You look like you've been in a boxing ring!

Doctor Steve suspects Alice may have broken bones,

but only X-rays can confirm that diagnosis.

She's going to be flown direct to Leeds General Infirmary.

-Ready, steady, move.

-SHE GROANS

OK. Soon have you sorted, all right, Alice?

You're on the top of Leeds Hospital now.

Not many people get to be here.

Both Pete and Steve have been to simpler mountain rescues.

For an accident in the suburbs, Alice's case was as complicated as it gets.

The worst part of that was, the rocks that were underneath the grass made it unsteady.

Even walking down, you could've stumbled.

Helimed 98's returning to base,

but its patient spends the next few hours being examined, X-rayed and scanned.

Finally, the LGI's doctors decide she has no broken bones,

but she has lacerated her liver and she's badly bruised.

We were just wandering around and having a nice look at the view.

We sat down for a bit and then I must've fallen as I was trying to get up.

It was quite terrifying when I actually woke up

because I didn't know what had happened.

The first thing I remember is, I was surrounded by fire engines and police officers.

Alice is a sporty teenager and she's most upset that she'll lose her place in the school netball team.

But after just a few weeks away from the sport she loves,

she goes on to make a full recovery.

Now, let's get back to the battle to save building worker Josh Delaney,

trapped by his legs in an unstable trench

that's threatening to completely collapse.

In South Yorkshire, the plight of a building worker trapped in a trench is headline news.

"BBC Radio Sheffield news. An air ambulance has landed in Stannington this afternoon

"to try and rescue someone trapped in a trench there.

"The emergency services got the call just after one o'clock this afternoon.

"Our reporter is at the scene and joins us now.

-"Tom, what do we know?"

-"The emergency services are here..."

Josh Delaney was on his first week at work

when the eight-foot-deep trench he was working in collapsed after overnight rain.

Fire-fighters are trying to shore up the sides of the trench, but they fear a further collapse.

We need to be cautious of how stable the trench is,

in terms of the ground around him that's already collapsed.

But if the fire service can create enough space, we may be able to lift him out.

But it's a little too early to say exactly how we're going to get him out.

His rescuers have now managed to free Josh's upper legs.

They could still face a long wait until he's finally freed,

as does the owner of the house.

I thought there must've been a bomb or something gone off. It was awful. I started shaking.

You don't know what to expect, do you?

You think the worst, don't you?

ALL TALK AT ONCE

The left leg's totally immobilised, can't move it. The right, he can. Lower back, as well.

As soon as we get this bit here, have him.

Doctor Dave's amazed Josh isn't badly hurt,

but the lack of feeling in his legs and pain in his back are worrying.

He's trapped in a trench that's about eight-foot deep

and he's probably only trapped by his feet and lower legs at the moment,

but it's a really confined space.

He doesn't appear to have any other injuries.

The fire brigade are using steel beams and airbags to shore up its walls.

But a huge pile of mud and clay is threatening to collapse on Josh

and they've been forced to remove it shovel by shovel.

The earth that we've been moving is predominantly clay.

We've had a bit of rain, so you can imagine,

anybody that's ever moved any earth with a shovel and a wheelbarrow,

it quickly generates a lot of weight.

So it's a very delicate operation. We want to make sure

that our operations don't impact on the safety of this casualty.

Can we take this out of here so we can put another one of these at the opposite side?

-Are we all right doing that?

-If you're happy.

I've been told that the weight of everything is completely on that.

The foundations which Josh was working in are extremely deep for an extension.

But this village is built on a hill, and building inspectors had asked for more digging.

It's making his rescue even more difficult.

With the large amount of earth that's being moved and trapped into the individual,

there's a potential there for life-threatening injuries.

Our main priority today

is to stabilise any further movement of earth,

which will allow the paramedics to do their job, stabilise the casualty,

and then we'll take care of the extrication part.

Josh's boss is worried, too, but not as much as one of his friends, who's on the phone.

You don't need a nervous breakdown. He's all right. They're taking him out now.

-Shout to Em!

-Hello!

-Did you hear him?

BACKGROUND CHATTER

It was a friend of his. My young 'un's girlfriend, that's his best friend.

All right. Left knee. The left leg is totally immobilised.

They're about to try and lift Josh free,

but everyone knows the movement that entails could cause more earth to collapse.

Coming up... Fire-fighters prepare to free Josh,

but it's an operation fraught with risk.

-Lift.

-ALL TALK AT ONCE

Let's return to the rescue operation in Wharfedale,

where a lorry driver's been badly hurt in the snow.

Brian Feather is trapped in the cab of his lorry

after it spun off the road in the icy conditions.

Paramedic James Vine has managed to clamber in beside him

and knows Brian needs urgent treatment.

We're just going to lift him round so he's square with me and his feet should follow you out.

Getting Brian out of the truck isn't going to be easy.

James thinks he may've injured his spine

and one wrong move could leave him paralysed.

Everybody happy? Everybody got a bit? It'll be a wee bit sore, Bri, OK?

Ready on three? One, two, three, move.

-And hold.

-HE GROANS

Take it nice and steady and walk him round to that flat bit and we'll get him sorted from there.

How the police officers respond depends on how serious the injuries are.

Brian appears so badly injured that there's a chance he might not survive.

-What's his condition?

-Difficult to assess at the moment. Probably a head injury.

-Fatal or not fatal?

-Potentially.

-Potentially. OK.

Now safely out of the woods and on the road,

Brian's injuries can be properly assessed for the first time.

Brian, big deep breath in for me, chief.

Great job. Smashing. Any pain in your chest?

Any pain here? Lift this leg up for me.

We should be getting the patient on board in the next ten minutes, so ETA 10 minutes after that.

We'll soon get you warm.

It'll take just ten minutes to get Brian from here, a field at the side of his crashed lorry,

to the emergency care he needs at Leeds General Infirmary.

The hospital's fire-fighting team have already been out to clear the snow from the landing deck.

It means Steve can land right on top of the hospital.

We'll get you out of the helicopter and onto a stretcher now, mate.

A specialist trauma team

is waiting for Brian in the Accident & Emergency department

and his treatment is now in their hands.

He's a 40-year-old male lorry driver. High-speed road, approximately 50mph.

Down an embankment into trees, through various trees.

Extensive frontal damage to the cab and bull's-eye impression on the windscreen.

With a scenario like this,

everyone's expecting to find some very serious injuries.

Over the next 36 hours, doctors do a series of tests and scans.

For Brian's family, there's a nervous wait.

But Brian had luck on his side.

A month later, he's back at his workshop.

He broke three ribs and is getting better fast,

but he has some vivid memories of the crash that could so easily have killed him.

I just heard an almighty bang from the nearside,

and the steering wheel was snatched out of my hands and veered to the middle of the road.

All I could think of when I could see the tree,

I shot off the road and down the ditch and into the trees,

and I thought, I need to get out of the driver's seat.

I got out the driver's seat to the back of the cab,

thinking that if it did hit the tree,

it'd knock the wheel into the driver's seat, which it did, so I was lucky that I got out.

I felt as though my life was draining away.

They were geeing me on. I could hear one say, "He's going. We'll have to get him out."

So, yes, I'm a very lucky sort of a chap.

If you work for the emergency services,

you soon get to know one of the facts of life about serious road accidents -

they often happen in the same places.

Accident blackspots are real and they're killers.

Bikers love the North Yorkshire market town of Helmsley.

They're attracted by local roads, with their sweeping bends and long inclines.

Motorcycle magazines recommend them.

But the B1257, a spectacular route across the Moors to urban Teesside,

has a terrible reputation among the emergency services sent to rescue the victims

when bikers get it wrong.

It's nicknamed the Helmsley TT

and these videos posted on the internet, featuring irresponsible riders,

show the incredible and illegal speeds they get up to.

Most bikers condemn the actions of the few.

They ride the road safely and within its limits.

But the thrill of its high-speed bends is too tempting for some riders

and the consequences of a high-speed crash can be tragic.

As we were approaching the bush there on the left-hand side,

we just saw a cloud of smoke and the bike just went in the air.

We didn't actually see the rider. We got out the car and found him in the grass verge there.

The Helimed crew are regulars along the notorious 15-mile stretch.

Hiya. Can somebody tell me what happened?

The biker is seriously injured.

He has demolished a dry stone wall,

not with his bike, but with his body.

HE SCREAMS

Just a minute, mate. Is that all right, where I'm feeling you?

All we saw was a cloud of dust going up in the air,

plus the bike with no rider on it flipping up in the air.

That landed, and as we came round the other side,

we could see the bike but not the rider.

So we got out the car, ventured up the road

and found him laid here against the wall.

These walls have stood for centuries.

The paramedics know the force of the impact must've been huge.

I'm going to feel down your back again, just like my colleague did.

HE SCREAMS Just tell me if it hurts anywhere.

The biker had overtaken some of the people who are now helping him,

and at high speed.

About two miles before this point, two motorcyclists came past me, a red and black bike,

travelling at a fairly high rate of knots,

Er, I'd estimate above 100mph, going on probably closer to 130-ish.

I know you're in pain. It's important you stay still and we do things in the right order.

I came across the skidmark just up behind the corner

and I knew what it was, I knew which bikers it was.

The way they came past me, I was expecting it.

You can't move just yet, mate. We need to move you steady.

You've come off and demolished a bit of a wall, so we need to make sure you're not injured too much

and that we don't injure you any more.

We're going to get your helmet off, get you a collar on and get you off to hospital.

They drive like lunatics. My parents live in Thornton Dale,

and it's known locally as the Helmsley TT, which gives you an idea of how fast people drive.

We're going to have to move this.

Put him half onto the board there, where this guy is.

Several bikers have stopped to help. They did the right thing not moving him.

When I was younger I saw a bike accident. The paramedic said, "Don't move the helmet."

Every accident I've been to, the helmet's the last thing to come off.

So I would never take the helmet off.

The police have begun an investigation into the cause of the accident.

Because of the number of crashes involving bikers on this road,

they have singled it out for special attention.

I know North Yorkshire Police have got a crackdown on motorcyclists, but it doesn't stop them all.

It reduced it this year,

but there's still people who think they can drive

at stupid speeds on country roads and get away with it.

Every now and then, they lose the fight.

Has everybody got something? Ready, steady, lift.

Helimed 99 is going back up the Helmsley TT road at 150mph,

a speed some of the bikers who ride it try and match.

It leads to Middlesbrough and the James Cook Hospital.

Their patient was quickly taken in for a full body scan.

It revealed injuries that put him in intensive care

and kept him in hospital for several weeks.

Thanks to the modern tradition of placing flowers

or roadside memorials near the scenes of fatal accidents,

dangerous stretches of road are now easier to identify.

But they still don't prevent more people from getting hurt.

Around 3,000 people are killed on the UK's roads every year.

One day in 1993, four of them died here.

Their memorial is there as a warning to other road users,

but many don't see it, or ignore it.

Today, one young driver has become the latest casualty

of this notorious stretch near Wakefield.

-So, he's been inside the car?

-Yes. He's got out himself through the back window, he thinks.

He was very dazed when he got out. Very, very dazed.

He will be a bit shook up, won't you?

This Mini's 23-year-old driver needs the Helimed paramedics' help.

I was driving my wagon up the road, I saw the Mini overtake two cars.

The next thing I saw was the Mini airborne, flying into this field

and the young guy on the stretcher here climbing out of it, basically.

Very lucky. Very, very lucky.

What makes one road more dangerous than another

is defined simply by the number of serious accidents on it,

and this straight road's tragic history is well known to the emergency services.

Because of the nature of the road, people tend to go really fast across it.

There have been a number of incidents along here.

I noticed the scar on your tummy.

It turns out this is the second major smash he's been in.

-Another car crash.

-Just look at me. Open your eyes.

23-year-old Luke Johnson's Mini is a write-off.

As is the other car involved.

The drivers are lucky to be alive.

This young man's been doing an overtake and it's all gone wrong.

I think the car's pulled in front and he's ended up coming off worse.

He's got a substantial laceration, as the crew reported,

to his face, all the way to his chin.

We're going to see if we can get him into Plastic directly at LGI.

Even with safety belts on and airbags having gone off,

the stresses on the human body in a rolling car are immense.

There's a strong possibility Luke could have serious internal injuries,

as well as the visible ones.

Ready, steady.

Roll. OK.

If you just want to lower back for us, Luke.

Are you all right?

The infamous road has claimed another casualty.

A few days later, Luke's car is back at his home.

Luckily, its owner is in better condition.

Luke escaped the rollover with little more than a few bruises

and after tests in hospital, he was released.

I had quite a lot of bruising on my shoulder, my legs,

so I've come out pretty light from, you know, from what happened.

Not much running through my head, but I thought, "This is my time."

Luckily, there was a stretch of grass where I could come to a halt.

That road's supposed to be pretty bad

for people dying and having crashes,

so it is a lesson learnt.

18 years after the tragedy that led to the building of this memorial,

the local emergency services know that Luke's accident

is unlikely to be the last time

they will be called to this junction.

When I was a copper, they told me that there was no such thing as a dangerous road,

just dangerous driving.

But the reality is, some stretches of carriageway

still manage to catch out motorists on a regular basis.

It's one of the most scenic, but also one of the most lethal roads in Britain.

This is the A628,

which crosses the Peak District from Sheffield to Manchester.

It's in the top-ten most dangerous roads in the country.

Today, the crew of Helimed 98 are on their way to yet another serious crash.

As we come over here, we should start seeing it down to the right.

And then we should see the road crossing us pretty much.

We've got reports a lorry has gone into a car.

The initial report says two persons trapped.

They've been trapped for about 45 minutes.

We've got a 15-minute transit, so by the time we get there, about an hour they've been trapped.

We've got the wooded area and the big slope on the right,

the river on the left, so the landing area might be tight.

Paramedics and fire-fighters have already been trying to free the driver for nearly an hour,

but he's still trapped.

RADIO COMMUNICATION

We're on the ground. Just have a look first, nearest new road to where we are.

Gentleman's got quite a significant head injury. Over.

The car is wedged between a lorry and a steep bank

and the paramedics' work is being made all the more difficult

because the trapped driver doesn't speak English.

-We've got a non English-speaking gentleman here.

-OK.

-He's combative. I've tried two attempts to stick a line in him.

-But he won't let you.

-He's strong.

I would say his condition is poor.

He's got extensive facial and head injuries

and could possibly have some underlying internal injuries

that have to be investigated further at the A&E.

He's got a bad facial injury. He's got a hole in the side of his cheek.

He doesn't speak English.

The accident has blocked the Woodhead Pass,

one of the main routes between Sheffield and Manchester.

The police are faced with a mystery as the driver can't tell them what's happened.

But some people who saw the crash say the car had been seen driving

about a quarter of a mile on the wrong side of the road.

He's got quite, er, bad facial injuries.

He's been trapped in a car for about 45 minutes.

We've not been able to get any obs on him as yet

because he can't speak English and he's also being quite combative.

He has calmed down now, so we'll try and get some obs on him.

Try and put a line in...

The paramedics are having trouble treating their foreign patient.

The language barrier and the effects of the head injury have made him aggressive,

and that's a big worry for Paul.

-We might be as quick going up to Leeds with him.

-Yes.

But with him being combative, I want to assess him before we get him out.

A passenger who was also in the car managed to get himself out of this twisted metal.

But he doesn't speak any English either.

It means the paramedics aren't sure who it is they're treating or where he's from.

The information that we were given was very scant.

Very little details on the patient and what exactly happened.

-Starting?

-Yes. Thanks.

The driver's being flown to hospital in Sheffield

where an interpreter is available to help doctors diagnose his injuries.

He's later released. Another statistic in the grim record of the Woodhead Pass.

The victims of our accident blackspots...

Now, let's return to the operation to free a builder trapped on a site in South Yorkshire.

In a suburban street on the outskirts of Sheffield,

Helimed 99 is standing by to fly the builder to hospital.

-Lie the long board flat there.

-Yes.

Somebody at either side. Down onto the board.

Fire-fighters are about to try and lift Josh Delaney free

from the collapsed trench in which he was working.

Ambulance service doctor Dave Macklin will supervise the rescue.

But this operation is fraught with danger.

A cubic-metre of earth weighs more than a ton.

Several metres are threatening to collapse.

It would inevitably be fatal for Josh.

Try and place him down, because we can't stand over this hole.

Now that you've got the tree out the way, we can probably put the board there.

It's time to take the risk.

-Is anybody not ready?

-On your call.

Ready?

-All right, Josh?

-Yes.

-All right, lift.

-Lift.

-ALL TALK AT ONCE

Agonisingly slowly, Josh is being lifted out of danger.

Either side. One hand.

But the medics are still concerned.

They're keeping his back straight so his rescue can't worsen any spinal injury.

He'll be strapped into a splint until they can rule it out.

Slide.

After more than an hour, he's out of danger.

But how serious are his injuries?

OK, mate, just some breaths in and out for me. And again.

Dr Dave's examination is painstaking.

-If I press on your tummy, does it hurt at all?

-No.

-Not even a little bit?

-No.

The verdict is remarkable.

-Is that hurting at all, where I'm pressing?

-No.

-Not at all?

Josh appears to be unhurt, certainly not enough to justify

a tricky take-off from the middle of a housing estate.

Our aircraft is in the way, and now that we know the patient isn't that poorly,

we're able to get out the way

so the land ambulance can drive to the hospital.

The young guy was on a week's trial with the company,

so a bit of jumping in at the deep end, effectively!

For Helimed 99, it's back to base.

It looks like this case is now a happy news story.

"Radio Sheffield news. A 21-year-old man has been taken to hospital

"after being trapped in a trench in Sheffield.

"He had to be freed by fire crews,

"but was taken to the Northern General Hospital with only minor leg injuries."

Scott came out to me and said, "Don't worry, he's all right."

But until you see them yourself, you don't always know that. You just fear the worst.

It must've been a good hour and half

before they got him into the ambulance.

Then he shouted, "All right, Katy?" "Yes, Josh, I'm fine!"

You know, so...

For Josh, 1,500 feet below,

it's a short drive to Sheffield's Northern General Hospital

where consultants confirm Dr Dave's verdict - he's unhurt.

I'd say the casualty's been very lucky.

The situation he's found himself in,

basically sat up against the backside of the trench, has definitely helped.

The amount of weight that's been on Josh

would have been in the region of hundreds of kilos.

If it had rested on the casualty's chest, it would've been a different story.

The paramedics can scarcely believe the outcome of the nail-biting drama they've watched unfold.

Very lucky lad that, Mike.

And the following day, there's a surprise for Josh's boss.

His labourer's back at work, none the worse for his ordeal and determined to keep his new job.

He went to get some wood to shore it up.

He came back, didn't do anything.

He said, "Start digging." I started digging and it collapsed on me.

As soon as it started falling, I thought, "I'm in trouble here."

I started really worrying, panicking.

And then after that, once it had happened, I calmed down quite a bit.

Scott calmed me down. He was like, "Relax. It's all right. Don't panic.

"If you panic, that's when you're in trouble."

I thought he was going to die.

I thought he was going to die.

We had to wedge it up quick before it killed him.

It were a bad 'un. You don't get any luckier than that.

There'd have been a good eight, nine ton coming down on him.

If we hadn't got it wedged, it would've crushed him.

The only people I could see were firemen in front of me and the paramedic behind me.

I was gobsmacked when I got out and there were hundreds of firemen, police and high-dependency units.

Remarkably enough, I've not got a scratch or a bruise on me.

Not a single mark.

I'm pleased to say Josh hasn't been put off the building trade

and he's determined to keep digging for a living.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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