Episode 23 Helicopter Heroes

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

In Britain's biggest county,

-you can be a long way from help.

-'She's stuck under the car!'

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance flies at 150mph and thanks to its speed hundreds of patients are alive,

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

-Stand clear, everybody!

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

-turning roadsides into operating theatres.

-We'll try emergency anaesthetic.

And town centres into helipads.

Still good on the left?

Every day the Helimed team's skill, speed and courage is saving lives.

Today on Helicopter Heroes:

-She's at the fence.

-Helimed 98 goes to the races when a jockey has a serious fall.

She was going 40 miles an hour.

-A mum consoles the driver who knocked down her daughter.

-I'm sorry. She came straight out.

A farmer's crushed under his own tractor.

He's been scrambling to get up.

And a fairground worker is taken for a nasty ride.

One of the mechanical arms has fallen on top of him.

Some sports men and women take big risks keeping us on the edge of our seats.

Jockeys, for instance. The thrills and spills of racing make being a professional rider

particularly hazardous. One day in North Yorkshire, one jockey found that the danger starts

even before the tape goes up.

And they're off!

Racehorses can reach 40mph and, for their jockeys, a fall can be fatal.

Dozens have died in pursuit of sporting glory.

In front of hundreds of punters and a live TV audience,

one horse cantering to the starting stalls has thrown its rider.

One of the private ambulances that covers Ripon races has got a jockey that's come off

somewhere on the course.

With it being horses and probably expensive horses, we'll go as high as we can,

depending on the cloud base, and just check all the horses and jockeys are out the way.

'98, we've just had an update from the racecourse.'

You can land at the starting stalls for wherever this race should have begun.

The horses have all been moved away.

'The ambulance crew on scene will put the lights on to identify where they are.'

Roger. Thanks for that, Dave.

They can see jockey Eva Moscrop lying on the starting straight.

-She was knocked unconscious in the impact.

-We've just got a fence at 12 o'clock.

-Yeah.

-Just see if you can signal that guy to move.

-OK, mate.

Safety on racecourses is paramount, so a private ambulance carrying a doctor follows the runners.

-A consultant from the regional trauma centre was by Eva's side when she came round.

-You OK?

-I'm Ros Roden, an A&E Consultant. I know you from LGI.

-Right.

-I've seen you lots of times.

-This is Eva.

-Right.

-One of our young lady jockeys.

The horse came past at great speed and she fell flat onto her back.

I was with her in about 15 seconds. She was talking to me.

Airway and breathing were fine and have remained fine.

She's been orientated. Eyes only open to quite persistent asking.

Eva has suspected back and head injuries. She's already strapped to a rigid spinal stretcher.

-Hello. How are we doing?

-All right.

-You know who we are? In orange suits. All right?

We'll just load you onto the aircraft now, all right?

I won't ask if you're comfortable. She's not comfortable on there.

Paramedic Tony would ordinarily take the injured jockey to the nearest hospital in Harrogate,

but the course doctor believes she needs the specialist care of the Regional Trauma Centre in Leeds.

-We can talk to Leeds and see what they say. Otherwise it's Harrogate.

-I would go to Leeds.

-She needs a proper trauma CT. The horse was going 40mph. She came off flat onto her back.

-OK.

And certainly the C spine tenderness would be best managed at a neurosurgical department.

The course is anxious to restart the racing, but for the Helimed team Eva's the priority.

Injuries at that speed are more significant than other horseriding injuries.

The risk of injury is high and concern about the head, neck.

-All ready for loading?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Helimed 98 finally gets the go ahead to fly to Leeds, so it's time to get in the air.

All right. Thanks very much, mate. Cheers.

OK. How are you doing now?

-Still got any pain anywhere?

-INDISTINCT ANSWER

Say again? ..Right, right.

Well, it's just 10 minutes' flight. We're taking you to Leeds.

OK? And we'll get you sorted out.

'Helimed 98, alpha. Good afternoon.'

Spinal and head injuries are common in horseracing accidents and, depending on the severity,

it could mean Eva may not be allowed to ride again.

She's been going at quite a speed on the horse. They're big horses, so it's quite a distance to fall.

-She's landed on her back.

-Approaching helipad. Helimed 98.

We're about two minutes, from the north, with five persons on board.

Because she's a jockey, she's got protective clothes on

that they wear, including helmets, so fingers crossed she's not done any real damage. It is a concern,

but hopefully she'll do quite well and it's a relatively smooth trip into Leeds for her.

In the next half hour, doctors at the LGI will find out how serious Eva's injuries are.

Their verdict could end her career in the saddle.

We'll return to Eva's story later.

Now airbags, roll cages and crumple zones save lives every day on the roads,

but for the emergency services modern cars present some serious problems

when freeing victims of an accident.

It's a summer's day on Yorkshire's busiest holiday route,

the A64 from York to Scarborough,

and the road's grim reputation as an accident blackspot has just become worse.

For villagers, it's a familiar story.

People don't realise they're stopping. They come like mad from that end and that end and get that.

It's happened I don't know how many times in the last 30 years.

Trapped inside the family car is motorist Heather Pattison.

Freeing her and flying her to hospital is today's mission for paramedics Lee and Matt.

Obviously, dealing with a big lorry against a car,

high impact speeds, there can be a lot of major trauma,

so we need to get there in support of the crews and see what we find.

Heather was driving her son home when the accident happened.

Now she and 12-year-old Christopher are trapped by twisted bodywork and the remains of the dashboard.

At the moment, the lady that's driving is trapped, trapped by her leg.

She's also got some chest injuries. What we're going to do is get her some pain relief

to deal with her injuries more effectively.

-Have you got the little one on this side?

-Yeah.

-Is he OK?

-Pretty good, actually.

Christopher is on his way to hospital by road. He appears unhurt, but the team is concerned

his mum's blood pressure could fall further. She needs a saline drip.

-Have we got an IV line in?

-Yeah.

-What's her BP? 100 over 68. It was 117 over 77.

-I'll get the other fluid.

-Cheers.

We're probably going to reposition the aircraft and then come over

and try to get her out.

We'll relocate the aircraft to this area. And then it's an easy pull through for the lady.

The accident's happened outside the front doors of a group of travellers.

Traffic's backed up for miles.

But there's a gap and pilot Steve is aiming for it.

Forward, forward, forward.

-That's about as far as it'll go.

-Is it? Mind if I open this door?

-No, crack on.

Just check for me to bring her down.

It's going to be a tight squeeze.

OK, keep her nice and straight. That's great. You've got her about 15 yards off the fire engine back.

Luckily for Steve, paramedic Lee is also a qualified helicopter pilot.

About six foot off the kerb. Yeah, bang on.

And you're there, mate. Great stuff.

Heather has been trapped for more than an hour and the team is growing concerned.

It's a prolonged extrication here. We just have to keep monitoring her.

It's a bit protracted, a bit lengthy.

Just popping this in your ear, darling.

Firefighters are working in the driver's footwell to release Heather's legs.

Just having to take the side door off, the driver's side door, and just trying to work

to take her out of the car. It's just a big team event. Trying to get her clear is a thing itself.

Ready, steady, lift!

At last, Heather is ready to move.

The team must keep her back straight as she may have a spinal injury.

Nice and steady, that's it. Nice and steady. And we're on.

-It's a good job there's no shortage of manpower.

-I'm just going to have a feel of your pelvis.

You tell me if that hurts. What about down these legs?

-Query left patella. And Chris said she might have had a compound right. Is that correct?

-Query it.

Query compound right tib and fib. We won't get a box splint on there.

They're taking her to James Cook hospital in Middlesbrough.

Paramedic Matt fears she has significant internal injuries.

The trouble with larger patients is, especially when laid flat,

the pressure on their lungs can obviously take its toll,

which is why we try to incline the board just slightly to take that pressure off her lungs.

We were concerned with her blood pressure that was dropping.

We've managed to maintain and raise that a little, to a safe level.

Injury-wise, to her legs, not too much of a problem.

It's more the chest injuries that we can't see that are concerning us.

The James Cook trauma team is on standby. It will be using ultrasound and scans to examine

Heather's chest and abdomen.

Doctors discover that Heather has major leg injuries.

She spends a month in hospital undergoing several operations.

I nearly died.

I was classed as critical,

which I wasn't aware of until the police officer came

a few weeks afterwards to take my statement.

He was the one that said he thought I was going to die on the scene.

They told my partner, you know, to prepare himself, you know, for the worst.

Heather is now on a long road to recovery, one that could take a year or more.

What happened in July was a life-changing experience.

It's wrecked my life. I was a very fit, active, working full-time and everything person.

And to go from that to being able to hardly walk,

in pain, then it's a big shock.

It takes an awful lot of getting used to.

Thankfully, Christopher, her son, was only slightly injured.

It's one of few consolations for Heather.

I'm very lucky. My son keeps me going.

You know, you look and you think, "I've got to get on with it."

So, yeah, moving forward.

We'll get there. It'll just take a while!

Reading, writing and maths are, of course, vital,

but one of the most important things you can teach your child is road safety.

Darren Petts and Karen Clarkson knew their daughter Siobhan was out on her bike

and they'd warned her to be careful. Now they can do little but watch as paramedics fight to save her life

after a collision with a car. It's a battle Sammy Wills is about to join.

Do you know any more information?

Accidents like this are traumatic for everyone involved, especially the parents,

but Siobhan's are determined to keep calm for her sake.

-Where's this blood come from?

-We think it's maybe tib and fib. We're not sure.

So we're sort of on the kerb.

Dad, can you stand one side? I'll swap places with this police officer. You can stay close, love.

Hello. What's your first name?

-Siobhan.

-Siobhan. All righty.

-Where's hurting most?

-My knee.

-Your knee. All right. I'm going to have a little listen to your chest.

Can you take a deep breath?

Oh, that's good. Can you do it again for me?

Superb.

Does that hurt anywhere when you do that?

-No.

-No?

-Sammy to Graham, over.

-Yeah, Sammy, go ahead.

-Could you bring me a traction splint, over?

-Roger, no problem. I'll be there in two minutes.

-Sounds like a broken femur.

-Paramedic Graham is right.

The force of the impact broke Siobhan's thighbone. It's a life-threatening injury.

Er, pelvis, femur, head. That's great.

How are you feeling now? Now you've rolled off here.

-That's got to be a bit better.

-That painkiller will kick in.

Siobhan's family and friends are very upset and so is the driver of the car.

I'm sorry. She just come straight out.

-How does she look?

-Fine.

-How is she?

-She'll be all right.

I'm sorry.

-When did you last have anything to eat?

-This morning.

-Yeah? Did you have a good breakfast?

-Sammy keeps talking to Siobhan to keep her fully conscious

and to distract her from the pain.

-Have you ever been in a helicopter before?

-No.

-Never?

There's a chance Siobhan may also have a head injury. She'll be flown straight to hospital in Wakefield.

Just watch.

-Right, mate. Do you want to jump in? What's your name?

-Darren.

-Have a seat.

-We've got Dad sat behind.

I don't want to fall on you!

Within 15 minutes of the 999 call, Siobhan is ready for take-off.

Sammy will be monitoring her patient's condition closely throughout the flight.

Can you see the blades?

5,000 children are killed or seriously injured on the UK's roads each year.

Thankfully for Siobhan, she'll be in the skilled hands of a trauma team within minutes,

but this is a day her mum and dad will never forget.

At Pinderfields Hospital, Siobhan undergoes a brain scan.

The good news is that the impact to her head caused no lasting damage,

but her leg is badly broken.

A week later and she's still in hospital. She is due out soon,

-but she's still getting used to the pot on her leg.

-There was a car in my way, so I could barely see.

I tried listening, didn't hear owt, but when I got, like, out of the car a bit,

I heard something and saw the car.

It was just a bit too late.

There's not a lot to say to that. It's a parent's worst nightmare.

Child versus car? What can you say? You think the worst. Any parent will.

There were people attending to her so it was a case of coming in and trying to keep out of the way

while offering her some comfort.

It isn't easy to do both at the same time.

The driver of the car has stayed in contact and gets regular updates on Siobhan's recovery.

I walked over to her and said, "Are you the driver?" I introduced myself.

And she just burst into tears. "I'm ever so sorry."

I gave her a cuddle and said, "It's not your fault. These things happen."

She just couldn't see her.

The next step is to get out of bed and on her feet.

The issue now really is her physio and getting her up and mobile.

That's a bit of a problem at the moment.

She's really struggling to get up and mobile again.

Two months on from the accident and Siobhan is back home and out playing.

This is a very hairy dog.

But she's not quite fit enough to ride her bike yet. She knows she's been lucky.

I'm lucky to be alive, actually. Not many people get hit by a car and get away with it.

Siobhan is now back on her bike, but what about Eva,

the jockey whose fall from a horse threatened her entire career?

She now faces crucial medical tests to see if her accident has had any lasting effects on her brain.

Eva has suffered concussion which can lead to memory loss and dizziness,

both serious problems for a jockey.

It's a month since her accident and she's back working with racehorses,

but she's not yet in the saddle. First she has to persuade racing authorities she's fit to ride

and the medical tests are strict. Many jockeys never race again after a fall like hers.

Today is crucial.

'I'm feeling a little bit nervous.

'I've come to hospital today to do a concussion test.

'I have to pass this test to be able to ride again.'

-Eva Moscrop for a concussion test.

-If you just take a seat, help yourself to a drink.

I'll let the nurse know.

Right, Eva, the first test we're going to do is... the balance test.

-You remember that one?

-Yeah.

-If you want to stand up for me.

Remember, one foot in front of the other.

A lot is at stake for Eva. She is desperate to get back on a horse.

Stand as still as you can for 30 seconds. OK? Off we go.

'Eva came last week, did the test, then she has to see a neurologist to do various tests.'

OK, well done. That's it.

We don't know why she's failed.

We've just been told by the British Horseracing Authority

that she needs to have a re-test done again today.

So, now we're going to go on to the number test, OK?

One, seven.

One, seven.

You've got two minutes to do as many as you can, so work your way down the page.

All the tests, once we've done them, go off to a psychologist

and they go through them all and check them against previous tests.

Then it's up to them to make the decision with the neurologist

whether they're fit to ride again.

Not riding's been quite frustrating.

I just want to get back doing it. I'm just keen to do it again.

Sadly, Eva fails the test once again.

But a few weeks later, 12,000 miles from home,

she's back in the saddle down under.

All right, Eva.

Trotting OK.

All right, we'll take him back for a canter, please.

An invitation from an Australian trainer and a new medical certificate

has allowed her to start a new career racing on the outskirts of Sydney,

despite a series of further setbacks.

Just before I came to Australia, I had a couple of falls.

And I had viral meningitis,

so I was quite poorly and I felt a bit weak and my confidence had been knocked a little bit

because it all happened within a small space of time,

then I came over here, just galloping every day.

It's really done me a lot of good.

I'm a lot stronger and more confident in my riding.

I've always been brought up around racing.

I've always really wanted to do it, so even though I have falls and get hurt, it doesn't put me off.

Now, it's no wonder the busiest time in A&E is at the weekend.

That's when many of us are out enjoying our leisure time.

In Preston in Lancashire, the fair has come to town,

but today, the fun has ground to a halt.

A fairground worker has been crushed under a ride.

Air Ambulance paramedics Andy Armitage and John Baxter are on their way.

We're leaving God's country and into Lancashire.

Reports are coming in of the man's condition.

'We've got a 21-year-old male who has been dragged underneath a fairground ride.'

Sounds like there's major trauma gone on to this chap.

'The crews on scene are reporting multiple fractures -

'arms, legs, ribs, so you've got potential for many, many internal injuries alongside those as well.'

Pilot Stewart Hadley-Clarke has few choices of landing site.

The local bowlers are not going to be happy, but ground paramedics need Helimed 99's help.

I was first on the scene with one of my colleagues.

We did an initial assessment, brought him back to our treatment centre,

then called the North West Ambulance Service.

Hello there.

20-year-old Gareth, male, been working on the fairground ride.

One of the mechanical arms that swings out of the three capsules has fallen on top of him.

-He was initially trapped and lost consciousness.

-Can I take this?

-Yeah, I'll give you it all.

They've not faulted from that, but his pulse is now regular at 61.

Gareth Procter is badly hurt after being crushed by a ride called the Twister.

He could also have serious internal injuries.

-Where's the pain the worst?

-Round my wrist.

If you had to score the pain out of ten, what is it out of ten?

-I'd say nine out of ten.

-You said it was a lot better before.

-It was.

Is it just coming back on you? All right.

You're going in a helicopter. I'm dead jealous.

Do you want one of us to come with you to hold your hand?

- I don't mind. - Nice and steady, Gareth.

The local bowling green is lovingly tendered.

Now its smooth turf is supporting a three-tonne helicopter and seven pairs of boots,

but the team's patient must come first.

-I've got his arm under it.

-We'll see if we can support his arm.

We're going to give you something more for your pain, darling. That'll be wearing off.

-Gareth, can you see all right?

-I keep going bug-eyed.

Paramedic John is concerned about Gareth's eyes.

It looks like he's suffering from a rare condition that could blind him for life.

Only the speed of Helimed 99 stands between their patient and a lifetime of disability.

His eyes are bloodshot

and there's been some trauma to his chest and his neck area.

We're wondering if that pressure has put a lot of pressure

on causing swelling inside the head. One sign can be bloodshot eyes.

So, when you get bloodshot eyes, sometimes the vision can start to deteriorate and go.

They need an emergency operation

to cut little slits in the eyes to relieve the pressure.

We've told the hospital, so they know that's a potential for them to sort out when we get there.

The cause of Gareth's injuries is now clear.

He was almost strangled by his gold jewellery.

He had a metal chain on which has got caught up in the mechanisms

and really yanked on his neck,

which has increased the pressure into his head.

His eyes are bloodshot, so there's probably been some head injury before,

but probably it's just caused him to lose consciousness.

Gareth needs extensive surgery.

As well as treating his eyes, surgeons have to repair two broken bones in his neck.

But two months later, he's back on his feet and on the road to recovery,

his eyesight unaffected.

Me and my two mates were on the machine watching it go round.

I went to grab hold of one of the cars,

to jump in the car as it's going round and my foot slipped

off the steel plate on the floor and shot across

and when I let go, another car came round and hit me.

Then it knocked me out and I landed on the floor.

When I woke up, I were in between the floor and the bottom arm.

-I keep going bug-eyed.

-Right.

He's lucky to have survived the accident and so is the chain around his neck.

It got caught on to like a nut there and it pulled me round the machine.

And I think I did something to my wrist and I've got a mark on my arm.

A couple of cuts and I broke two bones in the back of my neck.

Gareth hasn't returned to work at the fairground and feels lucky he and his necklace are in one piece.

I thought it were the end of the world, it were my time to go,

but someone up there wants to keep me here.

A case that proves fairgrounds can be dangerous places.

Now, a bouncy castle sounds like harmless fun.

Not necessarily.

They're a fashionable part of many a party,

but every year, an unlucky few are badly hurt in accidents involving bouncy castles.

Indoors, like this one, they're relatively safe, but outside,

even a brisk breeze can lead to a serious injury,

as paramedics Pete Vallance and Leon Baranowski are about to find out.

We're on our way to Harworth which is just south-west of Doncaster

for a child that we believe was blown off an unsecured bouncy castle with a head injury.

He was reported to be unconscious. Speed is of the essence. We need to get down there as quickly as we can.

This was a family fun day. Now everyone's in shock

after seeing the giant inflatable take off on a freak gust.

They were just on the inflatable, bouncy slide thing and the wind just got under it

and it just... pulled all its anchors out and just flipped under the wind.

'Update from our RV on scene.

'This eight-year-old male has been lifted approximately four metres vertically

'and 30 - three-zero - metres horizontally when the bouncy castle blew.

'Unconscious for unknown length of time.

'Now GCS approximately ten - one-zero. Over.'

We'll try and be as quick on scene as we can with this one.

-Yeah.

-If the GCS is ten, then this kid is not very well at all, is he?

Being unconscious can mean serious head injuries.

Speed is vital and the ground crews have already got the boy ready to go.

This is Alfie, eight years old. He's been on a bouncy castle in this area.

No obvious injuries that we can see on a top-to-toe.

Pupils seem OK, equal and reactive.

-It's clearly a head injury.

-Yeah, that's fine.

Alfie Hilton was thrown 30 metres into the neighbouring field.

He is now slipping in and out of consciousness.

How did he get back here? Have they just picked him up and carried him?

-Yeah, I carried him into that position there.

-You're going into the helicopter now.

CRIES OF PAIN

On board the Air Ambulance, Alfie is clearly distressed and in need of pain relief.

Hello there. Can you open your eyes for me?

-That's a good boy.

-RADIO MESSAGE

-Can you hear that?

It's vital that the crew keep talking to Alfie to keep him responsive.

His mum Sue is flying with him.

-Just listen to us. Do you want to talk to him, Mum?

-Alfie, Mummy's here. Listen to people, please.

It's a ten-minute journey to specialist teams on stand-by

at Sheffield Children's Hospital.

'The crew quickly got the patient packaged, ready for our arrival,

'so as soon as we landed, we could get him on board the aircraft.

'He was quite upset which could have just been the pain from the injury

'or he could have had quite a serious head injury as well.'

Alfie... Alfie, open your eyes again.

'The best thing for the patient is to get picked up'

by ourselves and brought to Sheffield Children's Hospital.

Time is the most important factor for treating a head injury.

For the Air Ambulance crew, an emergency call which involves children always strikes a chord.

Anyone with children would feel for the parents of a child who has been injured in an incident like that.

And it certainly focuses your mind.

I wouldn't say you go the extra mile

because we try our hardest with every casualty we get,

but when it's a child, you pull out all the stops

to ensure they're safely conveyed to hospital and get the best treatment.

For Alfie's family, the next few days is an anxious time.

Doctors find he has a bleed on the brain and a fractured pelvis.

Alfie, do you want to come down and play?

But just two months after his accident, he is once again home and bouncing with health.

The wind came out of nowhere

and it just slightly tipped...

..and then it went faster,

then it went...

and then I went on the...

I don't know where I landed. Road, fence...

We're back to normal now.

He's back at full-time school.

He'd been signed off by both the doctors

and he's back doing PE and whatever he wants to do,

-so he's back in...back in, running around and playing football, aren't you?

-Yeah.

You know, you can't wrap him up in cotton wool, really.

It's not just kids who are at risk when they go out to play.

Paintballing is for adults only.

The bullets may be paint, but you can still find yourself on your way to A&E.

We're off to a paintballing centre

for a 25-year-old who has fallen

whilst participating in this sport that doesn't hurt you(!)

Ex-army pilot Tim Taylor, former soldier Andy

and Territorial Army medic Sam have all served in real war zones.

There's a chap here in a field with a referee's vest on.

He won't get along there. Whether that's good for you...

Helimed 98 is about to make the paintball battle below even more realistic.

Players can't often call in air support.

-Take it lower over the trees, then we'll drop into it.

-Yeah.

We're not going to get shot while we're here, are we?

No, we're keeping them out the way in an area where they can...

I thought I'd have to wear my helmet with the visor down.

The 26-year-old paintballer has fallen and broken his thigh bone, the largest bone in the body.

The morphine is starting to work, but he's in a lot of pain.

-Is this going on before the watershed?

-He's full of morphine. He's happy as Larry.

LAUGHTER

He was running along and he fell over a root. He sort of twisted round and landed really badly on his leg.

Initially, he said it wasn't hurting that much. It was just dull.

-He's got full PMS.

-Yeah.

-But as we've obviously started moving him...

Full PMS or pulse/motor/sensation is a very good sign.

It means the blood supply to the patient's lower leg hasn't been affected.

The staff here were more than helpful. The referee on the ground,

he administered first aid and put him in the recovery position,

so really, really helpful staff, actually.

-BANG

-Did you hear a snap then(?)

-LAUGHTER

-Did you hear a snap(?)

The site isn't far from York, but it's down a long, bumpy track.

Although his injury is not life-threatening, it is painful.

Taking him to hospital in a chopper will minimise the movement to his damaged limb.

-Are you fairly comfortable there? How's that pain now?

-Back down to a four.

-Back down to a four.

OK.

-See you, love.

-All right, thank you!

-Cheers, guys.

Both pilot Tim and paramedic Sam have been under fire for real.

They're not too worried today.

We're going to be covered in red splodges, aren't we?

The paintballer will be in hospital in just a few minutes.

Today's war games have resulted in a very real injury.

It will be some time before this weekend warrior returns to the battlefield.

And I'm pleased to say all our weekend patients are on the mend.

Now, more than 30 workers die each year on Britain's farms

and livestock or machinery are the biggest causes.

Yorkshire's moors and dales are home to hundreds of hill farmers and many more thousands of sheep

and the back-breaking work of sheep-shearing has begun.

At a small farm near the village of Glaisdale in the North York Moors National Park,

farmer Colin Hutchinson has been crushed under his own tractor.

He was on his tractor. The lads had come to clip sheep, so he was in a bit of a rush.

The tractor somehow rolled on to him while it was still in gear

and it sort of rolled over his pelvis area.

Helimed 98 is on its way.

Colin is likely to have serious internal injuries.

-Visual, three o'clock, four o'clock...

-Yeah.

He's under these trees.

-Is that them waving in the field?

-Yeah.

What's happened?

INAUDIBLE REPLY

-Yeah, what's happened?

-His tractor has somehow rolled on to him.

-Rolled on to him?

-Yeah, it was still in gear.

Paramedic Graham Pemberton finds farmer Colin conscious and in serious pain.

Crush victims can have many life-threatening internal injuries.

-What's hurting the most, Colin?

-Pardon?

-What's hurting the most?

-Your tummy or your leg?

-My leg.

-Your leg.

-I'm starting to get a bit of pain here now.

-In the middle of your chest?

-Yeah.

Colin was preparing for a day of sheep-shearing when the accident happened.

Just got these sheep in to shear 'em tonight. He's just gone to back the trailer up to put the wool on.

Rather than sit on the seat to start it, he stood at the side,

leant across to start it, thought he'd put it out of gear, but must have knocked it into gear.

As he's started it, it's come over the top of him and he's been scrambling, trying to get up.

It's cracked something and gone into the front of the shed.

I couldn't see where he was, then he sort of staggered out.

Colin is given morphine, so Graham can make a thorough examination.

He's not actually landed on his neck or anything like that. He's unlikely to have damaged his neck.

We've got a 61-year-old male.

He's had a tractor roll over and bounce up and down on his pelvis

and we'll be with you at about 19.45.

He's got, obviously, a tender abdomen and he's got a query pelvic fracture.

All right, see you soon. Bye now.

This is the busiest time of the year on the farm,

but it's unlikely Colin will be back working for some months, if at all.

His workmates are just pleased emergency services were here so quickly.

The doctor arrived within about ten minutes, the ambulance about five minutes after,

then you lot about five minutes after that, so...pretty good, really.

We're putting some headphones on.

So you should be able to hear me, all right?

Graham wants to be able to talk to his patient.

-It'll get quite loud in here, all right?

-Thank you.

Crush injuries can lead to serious internal bleeding

and Colin may feel symptoms well before they show on the aircraft's medical monitoring system.

Helimed 98 is flying through the Cleveland Hills at 150 miles an hour.

Even with blue lights, on the winding roads below,

this journey could take almost an hour.

The team is touching down in just over ten minutes.

Helimed 98's landing at James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough is the start

of a long recovery for Colin.

Surgeons operate on their patient the following day.

But it's winter before he's ready to return to his farm in remote Eskdale.

Colin has made a full recovery and is once more using the tractor which ran him over,

a tractor that has been in his family for decades.

It's a David Brown 990 and it belonged to my father,

so it's a bit of an antique job and it's of sentimental value to us.

It was Colin's unusual way of starting the tractor

which led to the accident.

I just take her off. It gives it a squirt into the manifold there.

It sucks into the air intake which takes it into the engine

and away you go in no time.

That's what I was doing that day.

I just squirted, turned the key

and I went to knock it out of gear, which I've done before,

but the tractor, instead of stopping like it would have done,

as it has done in the past when this has happened, kept going

and this wheel caught me and knocked me down.

Once I got away from it, I just had to lay down and I got help.

This tractor is getting on for 42 years old and is considered one of the family.

It took a while, but Colin has forgiven it for running him over.

For about three or four weeks after that, I was giving the tractor a wide berth.

It was stood there, but I just couldn't go near it.

That was the thing. I just did not want to go near it.

After about a month, I thought, "I'll have to do something,"

and gradually started and...

From a hate relationship, we got back to a nice working relationship again.

She's now the old antique tractor again.

A story there of the enduring love between man and his machine

or, in this case, Colin and his tractor.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd