Episode 17 Helicopter Heroes

If you're critically ill or seriously injured, seconds count.

And in Britain's biggest county, you can be a long way from help.

-'Where's the patient?'

-'Stuck under the car!'

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance flies at 150mph

and, thanks to its speed, hundreds of patients are alive today.

Saved by a highly-skilled team of doctors and paramedics.

-Stand clear, everyone.

-Keep going, mate!

It covers some of the UK's most rugged landscapes,

turning roadsides into operating theatres...

And we're going to pop him off to sleep with an emergency anaesthetic.

..and town centres into helipads.

-All clear on the left?

-Just behind you, Tim.

..and every day the Helimed team's skill, speed and courage

is saving lives.

Today on Helicopter Heroes,

a family biking trip ends in a terrible accident.

The van just missed his dad

and he realised that his son was behind him.

I just seen him go flying in the air.

There's a difficult rescue on the river bank.

Just rolled right into the river and we're just so lucky she didn't hit her head.

Atishoo!

The team discovers the bizarre cause of a man-sized crash.

I just started sneezing, went dizzy and then bang.

And a day trip to a fishing village leaves a visitor stranded on the mud.

There was a big crack, and he might have broken his ankle.

Perhaps it's Team GB's triumph on two wheels at the London Olympics,

or just the price of petrol,

but thousands more people are taking up cycling.

It may be healthy and environmentally friendly

but the fact is cyclists are far more vulnerable

than any other road user.

When the summer finally arrives in North Yorkshire,

there's no shortage of sights to see but often too many sightseers.

So some cyclists like to get off the beaten track.

But, in a sleepy village near York today,

there's been a serious accident.

We don't have enormous detail...

Is it the crossroads right in't middle of village? Over.

'Yes, yes...'

A family cycling party was riding through the village

when the youngest member, seven-year-old Harry Nattress,

was caught up in a collision with a car and a van.

-Harry, what's hurting?

-My leg.

-Your leg?

-Yeah.

Now he's in the care of Helimed dispatcher Dave Gardner,

who lives in the village.

The car has hit the van and the van's knocked him off.

It's the van that's behind us.

A white car came out of the junction and hit the van,

and pushed the van into the boy.

I just, like, I just seen this body go up in the air

and come down, and I realised it was my nephew.

Ow!

Harry's mum and dad were powerless to help

when their son was thrown from his bike into a hedge

and then onto the pavement.

His dad was in front.

And the dad, the van just missed his dad

and he realised that his son was behind him.

All his dad can do now is watch

as paramedics struggle to stabilise his son.

He has a nasty cut to his chin

but his most serious injuries may not be visible.

Has he been knocked out at all, as far as we are aware?

He was a bit, a bit unconscious at first.

Of all his injuries,

it's his head that's most worrying paramedic Tony Wilkes.

BOY CRIES

We're going to make you all better, Harry.

Harry, you tell me if this hurts at all, mate. Does that hurt you at all?

Ow!

Their young patient is clearly extremely distressed.

There we are. You'll be OK. We'll get you sorted out, Harry.

We're going to make you all better, Harry.

His bike's in pieces and his helmet is badly damaged -

they're all signs he could have a serious head injury.

I heard a very loud crash noise.

I'm Community First Responder so I just shot out my front door,

told my daughter to ring the ambulance,

and found the young boy on his side, on the pavement,

a lot of blood coming out of his... looked like his head but it wasn't.

I ascertained it was coming out of his mouth.

The family in the car also need treatment -

one of them was thrown from the back seat into the windscreen -

but Harry must be the priority of the Helimed team

because of the severity of his injuries.

Ow! Ow! Ow!

It's distressing to listen to,

but crying is often a good sign in cases like this.

There you are, Harry.

But then Harry's condition suddenly deteriorates

and he becomes quiet and subdued.

Open your eyes, matey, for us. Harry!

This could be the first sign of the head injury the paramedics fear.

Open your eyes, matey, for us.

He must be flown to hospital quickly.

Harry!

Thanks to improved health care and modern nutrition,

Britain has an ageing population.

But today's pensioners aren't happy to sit at home and watch telly -

the over 65s are amongst the biggest users of our national parks.

The picturesque village of Hathersage, in Derbyshire,

has several quirky historical connections.

Robin Hood's sidekick Little John

is believed to be buried in the churchyard

and it's claimed the author Charlotte Bronte

set parts of her novel Jane Eyre here.

Now, Hathersage is a popular starting point

for people who want to explore the Peak District National Park

but today one elderly walker has taken a tumble in the woods.

We believe a 72-year-old female

has fallen into the river,

between 10 and 29 feet.

And the dispatcher's trying to get an update for us

but not come back with anything as yet.

Any fall over ten feet is potentially life threatening.

And, with the added danger of fast-flowing water,

it's definitely a job for the air ambulance.

-Is this Ladybower?

-This is... Yeah, it is Ladybower, here...

Even the most experienced navigator can have difficulty

finding patients in woodland and the misty weather doesn't help.

-The river is actually... Picks up centre of the dam.

-Yeah.

-And it's...

-That leads down...

-Yeah.

-..round onto the grid.

Hiya, mate. Hiya.

Retired nurse Mary Griffiths

fell down this ten foot bank into the river.

She's managed to drag herself out with the help of her friend Sheila,

who's a retired doctor.

No c-spine pain but she's got some thoracic central spinal pain.

-OK, all right.

-All right.

Erm, and that's as much as I've done, really, cos I've waded across.

-OK. Oh, right, you come across from that side?

-Yeah, I came...

-Was she in when you...?

-No, she was here.

-She was in exactly this position when I arrived.

-OK.

I need to get you just back up onto here, so you are safe.

We don't want you going in as well, all right?

And take the dog.

That would be great. If you could just look after the dog.

All right, mate.

Mary's little dog followed her into the river

and hasn't left her side since.

But paramedic Lee needs to move her out of the way

so he can help her owner up the bank.

Mary was out on a picnic with Sheila and her grandchildren

when she slipped.

We were just looking at wildlife and things,

and she had her walking stick but she, sort of, turned.

She was pointing, and I was looking ahead cos I was looking for the rest of the party,

and I was about there, and I could see her topple but I was too far.

And then she just rolled right into the river

and, of course, it's rocky so she's obviously bashed...

It's just so lucky she didn't hit her head.

-What happened? Did you just lose your footing?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

Oh, simple thing and just straight down here.

-Yeah, I rolled over, and over, and over.

-Yeah.

Now everyone's out of the way,

Lee and the paramedic, who was first to arrive,

can assess Mary properly and work out how to get her up the bank.

Mary, have you got a finger that I can use to pop this little peg on?

Although it's not far,

they need to move her without causing further damage

to her neck and spine.

Is that painful, there, where I'm touching. Is that hurting?

'It looks like, sort of, right sided shoulder blade.'

So, it's probably that she's landed on that area.

We're treating for t'worst, basically.

Just making sure her neck and her back's OK.

Mountain Rescue is on their way -

they have the right equipment and skills to lift Mary safely.

Ow!

Pilot Steve Waudby is on another important mission.

Mary dropped her keys when she fell into the river

and Steve is fishing them out.

Looking a bit damp, I don't know if he's been in!

-Was there just one bunch of keys?

-Yeah.

-Oh, well, we've got them. Yes.

Right, who's going to pull me up?

Big pull because I'm a big heavy pilot -

I've had sausages and chips for lunch!

Thank you very much.

It's a welcome sight when Mountain Rescue turn up,

although even they will find it tricky

to manoeuvre the stretcher in this location.

Mary is cold and wet, and has suspected broken bones.

At 72-years-old she could easily deteriorate,

so she needs to be moved off the river bank fast.

Every paramedic has tales to tell of patients who have lived

to leave hospital against all the odds.

But sometimes they're called to an incident that looks so serious,

survival is almost inconceivable.

Helimed 98 is heading for a major accident

that has closed the main road from Scarborough to York.

Just down here look, that bridge.

Yes, we're over the scene now. A64.

Wagon's on its side crashed into the bridge,

it's actually on the 64 itself, over.

Mark O'Brien's 40-tonne truck has smashed into a concrete bridge.

His cargo of corn has covered the carriageway.

-Too steep to get down there.

-Yes.

Do you want us to block the carriageway?

-Got to block them both ways, mate for us to get on.

-Yes, no problem.

That would be lovely. Have we got one guy that's injured?

-Yes. He's down there.

-Is he walking?

-Bad gash to the head.

-Right.

-Look at the wagon and it looks...

-Yes.

Stop the other side and I'll get him to move down.

Super, I'm coming down to you.

Incredibly, Mark has managed to climb out of what's left of his cab,

but Darren needs to check his injuries

and that involves a precarious slide down the steep embankment.

Do you want me to hold that while you go down?

No, way... Put it down in front of me.

Just a quick slip and tumble later,

Darren's able to get his first look at the state of Mark's truck.

That looks decidedly second-hand, doesn't it?

Do you remember everything that happened to you?

-I just started sneezing.

-Right.

-I grabbed my nose, went dizzy and then bang.

-Yes.

'The guy was talking.'

How he's stepped away from this I really do not know,

really do not know. Luckiest man alive.

So have you got any pain in your chest?

-Yes, just there.

-Can you take a deep breath for me?

-Does that hurt?

-Just there, yes.

It hurts when you take a deep breath?

It's obvious they wouldn't be able to get their patient

back up that bank.

So the helicopter is coming to him.

-There's the sign. Just by the copper.

-Yes.

So we'll go in-between that...

-that red circle sign and down.

-OK.

WOMAN: What happened though? Did it..?

I just started sneezing.

You know how you get right good sneezes,

and I grabbed my nose, went dizzy and then bang.

He can move all his arms and legs, got no back pain at all,

chest clear bilateral,

GCS is 15, remembers everything that's happened to him.

All the emergency services are used to big crashes around here,

but all are amazed that Mark managed to get himself free.

As soon as you got there you thought, "That's it, he's gone."

And he's just sat, sat there holding his head, talking.

-Out of the..?

-Out of the cab.

We were fully expecting for this to be a fatality

and I think the first report was in fact that it was a fatality.

But the driver was sat on the Armco barrier,

he's got a very nasty head injury,

but it looks like he's going to survive, luckily.

Massive forces involved

for a vehicle that size to collide with a bridge.

You know, the impact is incredible.

Just very pleased he's been able to get out

with the injuries he has sustained.

Take a breath.

HE INHALES DEEPLY

And out, that's lovely. OK.

No pain at all, you said, in your back?

Daz's thorough examination

rules out any serious neck or back injury.

He's got quite a nasty laceration to his scalp

and he's got some chest pain which is made worse by movement.

So we think he might have, you know,

just bruised his sternum or whatever.

He says he had a seatbelt on.

He's fully with it,

but because of the mechanism, when you look at the wreckage,

then we're going to err on the side of caution and take him.

What you need to do, just watch your head, for God's sake.

Get yourself up on that step for me.

It's clear Mark has had a miraculous escape.

Right, hang on there...

But looks can be deceiving.

Anything change as far as how much pain you're in? No?

With both carriageways closed and traffic backing up for miles,

Mark is taking the only route to hospital

and he's enjoying his flight.

That hurt, and that's him giving me a thumbs up

and he's just recently trashed a 40-tonne truck.

HE LAUGHS

It looks like it's made out of tinfoil.

If you look at the impact that his truck's made onto the bridge,

it's significant, to say the least, it's destroyed it completely.

Um, to say he's got out of it and walked away, is quite astounding.

He's sustained what is relatively a minor head injury

and he's able to move.

We've done a thorough examination of him top to toe

and other than his heart rate's going, you know, at a fair old speed,

which you would expect after an experience like that,

I'm not massively concerned.

-I think we should get a set of numbers off him for tomorrow.

-Deffo.

How many? Do we need six?

-We need six, yes.

-Get six numbers off him.

If Mark knows

the EuroMillions winning combination,

he's not saying.

Yeah, that's from nine, eight, overhead York to land.

Just bring that one round, that's it and bring the other one next to it.

OK. Nice and steady, big step down. OK.

I think any passenger

would be in pieces and wouldn't be alive,

so it's a result that he's just walked away from it.

So while the police and the fire service are left

to deal with what's left of Mark's wagon,

he's being treated for surprisingly little.

A few stitches, a scratched knee and a sprained thumb

are all he's left with after such a catastrophic crash.

Just makes me feel very lucky that I got out of it.

Just totally amazed that I've walked out, climbed out

and walked away from it

with just a few minor injuries really.

So, yeah, I was a very lucky lad.

Very lucky indeed.

Back to North Yorkshire now, where the team's fighting to save

a young cyclist badly hurt in a serious road accident.

Harry Nattress's condition is worrying the Helimed team.

After showing signs of the pain his injuries are causing,

he's suddenly become quiet and subdued.

It's a bad sign.

Paramedic Tony fears his patient may have a head injury.

The crash has left the paramedics with four people to treat.

I'll see how my partner's doing,

make sure there's nobody else to transport.

But the priority has always been seven-year-old Harry.

-There we are.

-HARRY SCREAMS

Harry is once again becoming agitated.

On the one hand, it's good sign

but agitation can also point to a brain injury.

Cerebral irritation is a common side effect of head injuries.

The trouble is, it's hard to tell whether this

is a young boy's natural response to a very serious accident,

or a symptom of a life-threatening condition.

Paramedic John Baxter must determine which.

-Harry, how old are you? Harry?

-Seven.

-Have you just finished school?

He knows the key to treating Harry is reassurance.

Listen, look at me. Look at me, Harry, you're all right.

What we're doing, we've put these blocks around everybody

because that's what we do. All right?

More ambulances are arriving to take those from the car to hospital.

OK. Ready, steady. That's it, buddy.

But Harry's trip will be much faster.

He'll be flying straight to the head injury specialists

at the Leeds General infirmary.

Because he's quite agitated and screaming

and throwing himself around,

we just need him a little bit calmer before we fly him.

He's got a puncture wound in his leg,

not sure whether he's got a head injury as well.

He's got a lot of cuts on his chin, grazes on his arm and stomach

where he slid on the road, as well,

so he's obviously in a lot of pain as well.

So, with such a long list of injuries,

it's vital Harry gets to hospital quickly.

We're going to be bringing this seven-year-old child,

knock-down patient, in, called Harry.

He has been basically knocked down by a van.

Injury-wise he's just got abrasions to his chest.

We're querying a head injury,

there's nothing obvious apart from a laceration to his chin.

There is some damage to his cycle helmet.

They fear his very visible cuts

and bruises could be masking much more serious internal injuries.

For Harry and his mum, this flight really is critical.

In the Peak District, a tricky operation to rescue a pensioner

who fell down a steep river bank is about to reach its climax.

A pleasant country walk with friends has ended up

rather unpleasantly for retired nurse Mary Griffiths.

She's stuck part way down a river bank with suspected broken bones.

She's slipped, lost her footing and gone head over heels into the river.

Found herself

opening her eyes under the water.

She's made her own way back into the position where she is now with Andy.

But she's got some right shoulder discomfort,

we query that she's maybe fractured her collarbone,

and some associated pain around her ribs maybe got a rib fracture.

72-year-old Mary is in an uncomfortable position

and she's getting cold.

The Mountain Rescue team has been called in to move her up

the bank and onto the air ambulance.

Get a few people, we'll move her up, we'll do it in two blocks,

sort of take her up to here, on the ground,

and then one more, and then load her onto the air ambulance

and relocate her down to slightly nearer the road,

where the road ambulance will then transport her to hospital, I believe.

-You hold on to me, my duck, all right?

-Push with your leg.

That's it. Well done.

First, they have to manoeuvre Mary onto the stretcher

without twisting her neck.

Even though she's had some pain relief,

her ribs and shoulder are hurting.

This is what these guys are trained for.

They deal with these type of extrications,

so we'll leave it up to them.

They've got a paramedic of theirs down there leading it,

who was first on the scene and waded across the river to her,

so we'll just leave it up to them and give them a hand.

Mary's friend Sheila is a retired GP.

She helped drag her out of the water.

After getting her out,

she just couldn't move because it was too painful

and I couldn't lift her, I mean I could hold her and just make sure

she didn't slip back, but I couldn't...

Just hung onto the back of her trousers.

We're just going to manoeuvre you into the helicopter, all right?

Although Mary's injuries are painful, they are not serious enough

for her to be flown all the way to hospital,

so the crew just take her on a two minute hop to the waiting ambulance.

Good lift. OK.

-We've got some people to the right, Steve, can you see them?

-Visual.

We'll just go towards the centre of the field.

Yep. All nice and clear up front. Very good. And away she goes.

And soon she's on her way to the Northern General in Sheffield.

Can you just watch t'traffic?

We'll go down t'road, it'll be a bit better.

Two days later, and Mary is still recovering in hospital.

As a former nurse, she understands her injuries better than most,

including the names of her broken bones.

I had X-rays

and scans as well,

and I've got fractured ribs

and scapula, sternum and clavicle...

five ribs.

I find it difficult to deep breathe really and I know I must do that.

I should imagine I'll find it very difficult to function

when I get home.

Mary was about to sit down for a picnic with her friend

and her friend's grandchildren when she stumbled and fell.

It was a bit of a muddy place and the grass was wet, I think, as well.

I just slipped over, to this deep drop,

'and rolled over and over, and kept thinking I'd never stop.

'But I was in the water.

'It doesn't put me off walking but I think I'll avoid'

walking on the edges of steep banks.

Holidaying at home has a lot going for it -

no language barrier, no foreign exchange and no airport queues

and we even have the beaches here in the UK too.

The Yorkshire coast is one of the most dramatic parts of the country -

from the huge chalk cliffs of Flamborough Head,

to the tiny fishing village of Robin Hood's Bay.

This coast has a worldwide reputation,

but the path which runs along the top of these imposing cliffs

can be dangerous.

Continue now with top approach. One, two, five, decimal zero.

And, today, the Helimed team has been called to a walker in trouble.

-RADIO:

-'They're now a bit further up the coast.

'It's north of that coastguard lookout

'and there's a marker on the map,

'Castle Chamber, they're on the path above there. Over.'

We have somebody who sounds like

they've been out walking

on the coast because it's a lovely day.

They've either fallen,

or they're unable to make it back

to a place of safety. We're not quite sure exactly where it is.

It's quite a long coastal path from Robin Hood's Bay up to Whitby.

It's quite a pleasant walk, but once you get out

it's a bit of a trek round the coastline.

The path forms part of the 110-mile-long Cleveland Way.

Andy, Tony and Tim know their patient is down there somewhere...

Somebody has just pointed that way.

..it's just a case of finding exactly where.

It's a red jacket down there. What's...?

Just walk us out there.

-Is that them there?

-Yeah, they're waving on your left side.

-68-year-old Richard Hyde has a badly broken ankle.

-How are we doing?

But before paramedic Andy can assess his patient, he first has to

cross the bog which caused the accident in the first place.

-If I fall in this mud now...

-Don't do it.

-Is that what you've done?

-That's what I've done, just on there.

-Right.

-There was crack.

We'd been walking along this cliff path and apparently in summer

it's not too bad, but we've had so much rain recently that it's got

pretty boggy. And there's a bit of gate and some rocks

and a bit of log put up to try and make a little pathway

across the bog, but my dad was just getting across it trying to avoid

the water and he slipped to the side, fell into the bush

and let out a big scream, there was a big crack,

and he might have broken his ankle.

It feels sort of swollen and things but mainly it feels loose.

-It feels loose. What, round the ankle joint itself?

-Yeah.

The Hyde family have been joined by their family from Australia

for this Yorkshire coastal walk.

We came over for my cousin's wedding, and that was last Saturday,

and then we were just in Scarborough looking around and adventuring.

-How old does that make you?

-68.

-You don't look 68.

I've never broken a bone in my life.

It's been raining a lot more here than we had expected

and packed for, and been a lot colder.

But suddenly it's all sunny right now.

It just feels sort of numb.

You can't do owt with it? Are you all right if I remove your boot?

Of course, yes. The people coming the other way heard the noise.

-Did it make a massive crack?

-Yeah.

We were expecting a jeep or some guys in orange jackets or something.

We saw this helicopter coming over the horizon. My dad said, "Oh no!"

I'm just going to try and feel a pulse in your foot.

It's basically twisted over.

He's heard a bit of a crack and he can't put weight on it,

it feels floppy.

He says it's not very painful but it's very swollen.

With all the rain we've had over the past couple of weeks

it's extremely muddy. So, obviously, we try to make sure we don't slip,

as well, because another casualty wouldn't help the situation.

All the way up there, little steps.

This is our first day out walking over this side of the country

and it appears to have gone very horribly wrong.

But hopefully it will be OK.

We are actually heading back to London tomorrow

so a bit of bad luck, I'm afraid.

We're going to take him down to Scarborough Hospital,

which is only about ten miles away, so a couple of minutes flight for us.

Once it's had a bit of rain,

this path gets quite treacherous at times so it's not surprising

that he's gone over on his ankle.

It's also beautiful as well, this area of the world,

so I can imagine why people do come walking down here.

Sadly, this spells the end of Richard's walking holiday

but he hopes to complete the cliff-top path next year.

Getting away from it all is a treat enjoyed by thousands of families.

But addresses around here

can be hard to reach if there's an emergency.

Particularly if that address

is just a grid reference on a moorland plateau

2,000 feet up in the Peak District.

Helimed 99 has been called in to help hiker Jack Hartshorne

and his friend Jessica, who are on walking trip

on the highest peak in Derbyshire,

Kinder Scout, but it's no holiday if you can't walk up here.

When we were going down a river bank, my foot went straight

into the mud and I tried to get it out

and it twisted and twisted my knee.

This top area is all one big plateau and, as you can see around me,

it just flattens in stretches for a few miles in every direction.

Just fairly featureless peat.

The problem is it's really undulating and it's really easy to go over

on these tussocks and turn an ankle,

which is what this young lad has done.

So, you're able to put weight on it, able to bend it,

flex it, extend it, it's just going down on it is excruciating.

It's late in the day

and Jack has chosen the wrong spot to get stuck in the mud.

We haven't seen one person round here since we've been up here,

so it's just like in t'complete middle of nowhere.

We were a bit scared that it would get a bit dark,

because we have walked up here for like three hours now, so...

we just didn't know how long it was going to take, but...

-What a place to get stuck, eh?

-You've done the right thing.

-It's very difficult to get to you when you're up here, in't it?

-Yeah.

-It's nice coming up these locations, but if summat goes wrong...

-Yeah.

-I just didn't want to risk falling down again.

-No.

I wouldn't have be able to pull this leg out.

You'd have been struggling back.

Thanks to Helimed 99, Jack and Jessica are no longer stranded,

but Al's a Mountain Rescue leader in his spare time

and he has some footwear advice for the future.

-You need to buy a proper pair of boots.

-You need some of them.

None of these going to the pub jobs, you know. You need some ones

that come right over your leg, then you won't fall over and twist.

I've just been speaking to Buxton Mountain Rescue team,

who're also on their way to this job and, um,

we're going to meet them at Edale

and drop this young chap and his friend off down there

into the care of the Mountain Rescue team

and, then, they'll look after him from there.

The 2,000-foot descent from Kinder takes two minutes

and the young couple, who could've ended up spending

a cold night on the hillside, are grateful that they are safe.

It may not have been the holiday trip out they had planned,

but it has been an adventure.

There's one way of really taking

your home comforts with you on holiday,

and that's buying a caravan.

But driving around with a half-tonne mobile home attached to your car

takes more skill than you may imagine.

It's the hottest day of the year

and huge crowds are enjoying the sun on the beaches of the east coast.

But thousands of unlucky trippers are enduring temperatures

in the high 70s stuck in a jam on the M62 motorway,

thanks to this caravan.

This caravan just started snaking and, um, then just tipped over.

Overhead the scene now. Could we, um, could you get hold of the police

and ask them to shut both carriageways, please? Over.

Pilot Steve can't land

until both carriageways of the motorway are shut.

So he's gate-crashing a wedding reception at this roadside hotel

-to drop off paramedic Darrell.

-One side has stopped.

I don't think they realise we need the other side stopping as well.

The caravanners were on their way to Scarborough

when the driver lost control of her car and caravan.

Started snaking and we just couldn't get it back

and it just flipped the car over.

Luckily, the driver of the car behind the overturned 4x4

was an off-duty paramedic.

She's got out herself, but she's now complaining

of sort of lower thoracic upper lumbar pain,

but she also says she's got a pain in her groin.

-She felt her leg gave way when she stood on it.

-Yeah.

But there's a problem for the Helimed team.

Police have yet to close the west-bound carriageway.

Steve still can't land.

Yeah, just, er... Helimed 99, over.

The car's driver, Jacqueline Wilcock, is in great pain.

Her back and pelvis are the main concerns.

-So you can wiggle your toes, love, yeah? Wiggle your toes.

-Yeah.

You can feel that? You can feel it here? Yeah? OK.

Jackie's top-of-the-range caravan is two days old.

It's badly damaged.

But at last, Helimed 99 is down and ready to fly her to hospital.

It appears that she's got pain in her back,

so we're going to put her on the long board.

We've given her morphine for her pain. She's in quite a lot of pain.

But other than that, it's looking like quite a lucky escape, really.

Jackie's rescuers are keen to get her to hospital as soon as possible.

But the motorway police have their priorities too.

We need to try and get it open as quick as possible.

It's a very hot day,

there's a lot of people sat in their cars, a lot of engines still running.

We don't want to inconvenience people too much.

It's been a long journey to the coast for thousands.

But Jackie too faces a long road to recovery.

She has serious injuries and she's still on crutches

when she and her partner Brian get their repaired caravan back.

They hope to be back in Scarborough next summer.

Yorkshire's tourist trail takes in some pretty rugged places,

but medical emergencies can happen in the most unlikely locations.

Bridlington is one of the east coast's

most popular seaside destinations.

Families flock from miles around to its two Blue Flag beaches

and, like many traditional coastal resorts,

it's also a popular spot with the retirees.

The crew have requested us to go out there,

cos they've got a patient that they believe has got a leaky AAA,

which is an ascending aortic aneurysm.

The aorta is the largest artery in the body,

carrying blood from the heart down to the abdomen.

If it bursts, a patient can bleed to death very quickly.

Anthony Davison-Scott has recently undergone surgery

to repair his aorta,

but local paramedics fear it's now about to burst.

But how do you repair it? It's not like you can put a patch on it.

-You do, actually.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-It's like a puncture repair.

Landing in Bridlington may be challenging.

The land ambulance is just a short distance

from the beach in a public car park.

Got that dog off the lead to the left-hand side of the field.

Fortunately, the windy weather has put off many day-trippers,

so pilot Chris Attrill has plenty of space to land the chopper.

Anthony's partner Pauline knows how serious the situation may be.

She's also aware that they're a long way from a major hospital.

He had an operation a couple of weeks ago for an aneurysm

and I'm afraid it's just taken the wrong way again,

so he's having to go to Hull. It's an emergency

and we can't thank this service enough.

They're absolutely wonderful, they really are. They're amazing.

The ground paramedics have spotted that Anthony's stomach is pulsating.

This could be a sign that his aorta is about to burst.

Worst-case scenario, we're just assuming it may be

his aorta is dissecting, so it's starting to leak,

And, from that worst-case scenario, it can suddenly rupture

and you can lose most of your body's sort of blood volume internally

very quickly within minutes, so it really is

a life-threatening condition, if that's what is happening.

-Happy.

-OK?

If Anthony's aorta bursts,

there'll be little the paramedics can do to help.

He needs to be in a hospital with cardiothoracic surgeons on hand.

It's important that he gets down to hospital.

They'll do some scans, have a look to see if that is the case

and, if it is, he'll be in theatre relatively quickly.

This is a nervous time for Anthony's partner.

She can't fly with him.

But speed outweighs everything in a case like this.

Yeah, roger, we'll be lifting from t'scene in about two minutes.

The road journey to Hull can take an hour in the tourist season.

This way, Anthony can be in hospital in little more than ten minutes.

-Tony, what are you like pain-wise at the moment?

-OK.

-All right?

-Fine.

-OK. That sickness has not returned?

-No.

-Good, OK.

Comfortable as we are, then?

-Apart from the back.

-Apart from your back?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Anthony reaches Hull Royal Infirmary just in time

and, after yet more repairs to his aorta,

he is allowed to rejoin his partner in Bridlington

to continue his convalescence by the sea.

He was ashen, he looked to me... He was at death's door,

to be quite honest with you. It was quite scary.

It was just something else when the air ambulance came.

I didn't think he would make it. And here he is now.

Within myself, I feel very good,

'but as far as walking's concerned, I can't go very far. The doctor said

that, um, or the surgeon said that it would be

three or four months before I was right again, to be able to do that.

But, um, all in all, it's going very well.

The tourists who took home some unwanted souvenirs

in the form of bandages and X-rays.

But what about Harry, the young cyclist badly hurt

in a crash witnessed by his entire family?

'This is Helimed 98, just lifting.

'Heading for the LGI. ETA approximately eight minutes, over.'

OK, Mum, like I say, he's going to be really shocked

at what's happened, he'll be well upset with himself.

Half an hour ago, Harry Nattress and his mum

were on a family bike ride in the country.

Sometimes it's not a bad thing when they're like this,

going really quiet on us.

Now a trauma team at Leeds General Infirmary

is awaiting his arrival on Helimed 98.

-At first, he was blubbing.

-Right.

-He'd been stunned.

-Right.

-He started crying.

-And then he started to sort of come round.

-OK.

It looks like it's a good job he had his helmet on anyway.

-That's taken a bit of a bash, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

Paramedic Tony Wilkes is concerned

that Harry may have a serious head injury.

After being knocked off his bike, Harry hit a van,

was catapulted into a hedge and then fell to the pavement.

He was wearing a helmet, but they're designed

to protect the wearer from only one impact.

-Just keep your arms in, buddy, keep you nice and warm.

-Ow!

-You're doing really well, mate, aren't you? Star patient.

-Ah!

Harry is about to undergo a battery of tests

to screen him for head and internal injuries.

-A car's pulled out of a T-junction, collided with a van...

-Ow!

..which has collided with him.

-Right.

-Knocked him off his bike about three foot into a hedge...

After suffering three impacts,

the LGI team will be taking no chances with their young patient.

Doctors find that Harry has a collapsed lung

and several broken ribs. Within minutes of his arrival,

a surgeon makes an incision in his chest

to release fluid preventing him breathing properly.

X-rays show he has also broken his jaw.

But the good news is he has no head injury and, a few days later,

he's recovering on a normal ward, Mum still by his side.

-OK?

-Just too tired.

-Are you tired?

-Do you want to go back to sleep?

-Yeah.

-You can do.

'He doesn't actually remember anything.

'He can remember cycling, but doesn't remember anything from the impact.

'He remembers very little about being in hospital,

'um, I think there's still a lot of shock there'

to come to terms with and he does get a little bit upset

if I talk to him about it, because I think

there's probably a bit of fear that he can't remember

and also what's happened to him.

But he's doing tremendously well and he's been an absolute trooper.

He's been brilliant, I'm very proud of him.

-Hold my hand, darling.

-Ow, ow!

-I love you. I love you.

-Here we are.

-They'll make you all better.

-You'll be OK, we'll get you sorted, Harry.

'There's nothing that we could do other than look on

'and that helplessness is awful.'

From the minute we got into the ambulance,

I knew he was in the right hands and I knew he was going to get better.

'The first thing the policeman said,

'is what everybody in the hospital said,

'"Thank goodness he was wearing a helmet."'

-My helmet...

-Mm-hm?

-It was two days old

-and got destroyed.

-I know, but it was a good job

it was a new one, isn't it? It did the job, didn't it?

And a few weeks later, Harry is at home.

His jaw's still healing, so cycling's off the agenda,

but his mum's delighted with his progress.

His recovery has been nothing short of amazing

and I think it's fair to say the comment that kids bounce

really does apply here, because he's bounced back,

not just health-wise, but in himself.

Um, there's still little bits that...

He's not quite as cheeky as he was, but he will be, I know he will be.

If I go on my bike again,

um, I'll probably be a bit shaky, because...

I'll probably be a bit afraid of getting knocked off my bike again.

'If you close your eyes, you can still see it

'and I can still hear the bang and I can still see where he was,

'but I really don't want to think about that, you know, I just

'want to think about the fact that he's here, he's well and, really,'

how lucky as a family we are that we're all back together

and everything's just good again.

And I'm pleased to say, Harry's now back on his bike

and, despite his accident,

the family's determined to keep on cycling.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd