- 4 days ago
Close Calls On Camera S10E18 (27th July 2022)
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CreativityTranscript
00:00A close call. A moment of danger when life can hang in the balance.
00:05It was absolute panic and fear.
00:08A split second where the outcome could go either way.
00:11They'd have been lucky if they'd have stayed conscious.
00:13The difference between disaster and survival.
00:16It's literally, that's all it takes.
00:20These are the people who've been there and lived to tell the tale.
00:24I was terrified. I thought I was going to die.
00:27It's a day they'll never forget.
00:29The day they had a close call.
00:47Today on Close Calls.
00:49A father of eight capsizes his kayak on his first time out at sea.
00:54Cold water shot got me. Couldn't breathe.
00:56My leash on my paddle tangled up around my legs.
00:59He struggles to get back on board but fails.
01:02A friend attempts to tow him to shore as he clings on.
01:06But the wind and tide are against them.
01:08We were still as far away from land as we were when we started.
01:12He was super tired and he was losing the will.
01:16I could see it in his face.
01:17And a car somersaults down a road rolling four times before coming to rest on its side.
01:27Inside, a young couple call frantically to each other.
01:32Dave, are you OK?
01:34A motorist has pulled out of a driveway straight into their path.
01:38The roof was crunching and the glass was breaking.
01:43The sound was just horrible.
01:44Coombe Martin, Devon.
01:56A kayaker clings on for his life.
01:59Unable to get back on board, he's been struggling in the cold sea for more than 40 minutes.
02:04My clothes became waterlogged and the temperature of the water was very cold.
02:08Attempts by his friend to tow him to safety are beaten by the tide.
02:13He tries to swim, but gives up.
02:16And the waves were crashing over my face.
02:18He thought he was going to die.
02:29Matt had made the move from Hampshire to live near the seaside town of Beude in Cornwall nine years ago.
02:35He's a stay-at-home dad.
02:36And the kids love being outdoors, go for walks and hikes.
02:41I'm definitely the most adventurous out of the family.
02:44You know, I like getting out there and exploring the coastlines.
02:47One of Matt's favourite pastimes is fishing along the coast.
02:51Looking for a new challenge, he decided to try and combine it with kayaking.
02:56Get out there and get amongst the fish, if you like.
02:58It would give me the edge.
02:59He found the perfect craft.
03:02It was an all-rounder, so it was quite wide, which gave it stability,
03:05but made it very slow through the water.
03:08No expense was spared kitting it out.
03:12Got the best fish finder, which had GPS built in.
03:14I've got the best radio.
03:16I've got a personal locator beacon.
03:18You know, it was the top of the range and I had to have it.
03:20To get a feel for the boat, he started by taking it out on flat inland waters.
03:25You could put the kayak on the roof, go to a lake or a river and just explore for the day.
03:32A year later, he decided he was ready to tackle sea kayaking.
03:36I was really looking forward to getting out there and catching stingray and things like that.
03:41You know, I knew the sea was a very unforgiving place and you have to be careful.
03:45He posted on a kayaking website, looking for someone with more experience to go with him.
03:51Is anyone willing to take a newbie out to show me the ropes?
03:55Kayak fishing enthusiast Barry responded.
03:59I've always been a water sport person.
04:01Kayaking, surfing, swimming.
04:04He set up a local kayaking community.
04:06I started the group for the sole purpose of networking with other interested parties to stay safe, number one.
04:14To paddle with someone, to learn tips and tricks.
04:18He reached out to me and says, you know, I'm going out next weekend.
04:20You're welcome to join me.
04:21I've been doing it for several years and, yeah, I thought the perfect person to go out with, really.
04:26Going out with someone new is always an unknown challenge.
04:30You just have to be prepared for the worst.
04:32And Barry's day out with Matt turns out to be one of his most challenging yet.
04:41It's 8am on a sunny day in mid-June when Barry and Matt meet for the first time in a car park at Coombe Martin on the North Devon coast.
04:50We had a little brief chat about how much time he's had on the kayak and, based on his answer, I decided we're going to stick close in shore.
04:59I think my kayaking partner assumed I was well-versed in self-rescue and the basics.
05:05But it's been more than 20 years since Matt did safety drills in a kayak and a training course he booked recently was cancelled.
05:13He's hoping he'll remember his early training if he needs to.
05:17It's the first of a series of misjudgments he makes that day.
05:21And his second?
05:23I decided not to wear a wetsuit.
05:25I was just in a short and t-shirt.
05:27It was 18 degrees.
05:28It was lovely and warm.
05:31And Barry even suggested that might not have been wise.
05:34And I said, can I, mate, get your wetsuit on, what have you?
05:37But I didn't want to be out there paddling all day, sweating in a wetsuit.
05:40I put my life vest on with my buoyancy aid.
05:43It might be a warm day, but the water temperature is only 8 degrees, cold enough to cause hypothermia if you're in it for too long.
05:51You need to dress for the conditions, not the atmospheric temperature.
05:57Despite Barry's misgivings, they set off for the shore.
06:01The water's edge is 300 yards away.
06:04Barry has a trolley to wheel his kayak.
06:06Matt doesn't.
06:07It's setback number three.
06:09So I literally had to drag my 40-kilo kayak with all my gear across the beach.
06:14My arms were aching, my legs were aching.
06:17He was quite knackered by the time he even got into the water.
06:21Matt regains his breath once they take to the cove's calm waters.
06:25He films their trip from a camera attached to his kayak.
06:29With the tide flow.
06:31Yeah.
06:31And then come back on the tide as it heads up.
06:33Makes the last thing just...
06:35We expected a good day, and the tide was with us.
06:39Really excited to go out, and, you know, looking down at this crystal clear water, it was an amazing experience.
06:45Yeah, so you've been doing this a bit longer than me, so...
06:47Well, a lot longer than me.
06:50Barry leads them a mile offshore to look for fish.
06:54He was giving me the odd pointer about, you know, keeping the kayak onto the waves and things like that,
07:00and he knew it was my first time on the ocean.
07:02As you came around the corner, the wind was obviously evident, but it was still a light breeze at this time,
07:07so conditions weren't too bad at all.
07:09Well, this is all new to me, because I don't know what this boat can do yet.
07:13Never having been to sea before, Matt is becoming aware of the difference in conditions.
07:18Things were starting to get a bit rougher.
07:20The tide was now coming in, and the wind direction had changed, which made things a little more choppy.
07:27I started to feel a bit seasick.
07:29Barry steers them towards the cliffs for shelter, so they can anchor up to fish for an hour until the tide changes.
07:36Matt's anchor is stowed behind his seat.
07:39As I'm trying to get organised to reach around for my anchor, I've taken my concentration off my rudder.
07:46The kayak's now completely side onto the waves.
07:49The water pushes against one side of the boat as Matt shifts his weight to the other,
07:53turning to reach for the anchor.
07:55It's a dangerous combination.
07:58I could feel the side of the kayak coming up.
08:01That's when I knew I was going over.
08:03He is.
08:05Straight into the cold sea.
08:07Initially, cold water shock got me.
08:10Couldn't breathe.
08:11So I had my anchor line, I had my leash on my paddle, tangled up around my legs.
08:16He reaches the surface a few seconds later and clings on to his kayak.
08:21Instantly, he regrets not wearing his wetsuit.
08:25My clothes became waterlogged, and the temperature of the water was very cold.
08:29And that's not his only problem.
08:31My buoyancy aid was sized perfectly for me wearing a wetsuit, which is five millimetres thick.
08:36It was just trying to come off over my head.
08:38It was too loose.
08:39He tries to right the kayak so he can get back inside.
08:43I struggled.
08:45I was growing increasingly nervous, and that's when I started to feel a lot more panicky.
08:50Barry paddles across to help.
08:52He told me how to right the kayak by sort of dipping down in the water, bouncing up in like a cork,
08:58and reaching over and pulling the gun all over onto its south.
09:02After seven exhausting attempts, Matt manages to right the boat.
09:07He needs to get back in, but cold and tired, after a minute of trying, he calls out to Barry.
09:15So I pulled alongside, told him to go around, just to launch himself up sideways.
09:23I wasn't concerned at all.
09:25Matt's attempts are captured on camera.
09:27First of all, we're going to do it like a heel.
09:30Rapid and launch it up on.
09:32But after numerous attempts of him trying to get back onto the kayak, then I started becoming concerned.
09:39At one point, I tried to put my feet up on his kayak to lever me back into mine.
09:43I felt quite bad because I told him, no, don't do that.
09:46Just get away from me.
09:46It's no good me being in the water as well.
09:50Hypothermia is already clouding Matt's thinking.
09:52He decides to remove his buoyancy aid.
09:55I just assumed it would make easier getting onto the kayak.
09:58And as I started to unzip it, I suddenly had this moment of realisation.
10:02Well, no, that's the only thing that's really, you know, keeping me going.
10:06He keeps trying, but just can't get back into the kayak.
10:11Barry hides his growing concern.
10:13I knew I had to remain calm.
10:16First priority is to tether his boat to mine.
10:20Number one, it saves it being swept out to sea.
10:23And number two, that boat offers an extra flotation device for him to hold onto.
10:30Matt has been in the cold water for 40 minutes.
10:34The nearest land is a wall of sheer cliffs.
10:36Barry spots a large boulder at the foot of one of them.
10:39He decides to tow Matt there so he can stand on it and re-board the kayak.
10:44I was cold, exhausted.
10:48The waves were crashing over my face.
10:50I was breathing in seawater.
10:52I think if I was there alone, the panic would have been tenfold.
10:56The camera shows the boats roped together as Barry begins paddling towards the distant cliffs.
11:08But they make little headway.
11:10So I had the wind blowing against us.
11:13I had the tide pulling us out.
11:15I was towing Matt's boat and Matt.
11:18Ten minutes later, they barely moved.
11:20We were still as far away from land as we were when we started.
11:27Later, cold and exhausted Matt makes a desperate attempt to swim for shore.
11:32I couldn't swim anymore.
11:34I couldn't stand it anymore.
11:36He was losing the will.
11:38I could see it in his face.
11:39Warminster, Wiltshire.
11:51A young couple's journey to work is recorded on a dash cam.
11:56Ahead, a blue car emerges from a driveway straight into their path.
12:02All I heard was a massive bang.
12:03I do remember thinking that if we were to roll one more time, it was just going to be the end of life.
12:19Psychology undergraduate Jade is from Northampton,
12:22but moved to the rural town of Warminster in Wiltshire two years ago to look after her dad and grandmother.
12:28She became a community care worker and, a little later, met hotel supervisor James.
12:35James just has a bubbly personality.
12:38He's very caring and he's very thoughtful and sensitive.
12:41Jade would do anything for absolutely anyone.
12:44I think it's just, she's such a naturally caring and kind person.
12:48The couple moved in together a year ago and, soon after, took in a couple of cats.
12:53One's called Bronson and one's called Dottie.
12:56They're very lively animals.
12:58Got Bronson from Jade's mum.
13:01Her old cat had kittens and then we thought Bronson might want a friend
13:04and then I was scrolling through the internet and I saw Dottie.
13:08No one really wanted her because she's blind and one eye and we just loved her.
13:13Jade works long hours, so on her days off, she likes to spend time relaxing with James.
13:18So we do stuff around the house, like play Monopoly, watch films.
13:23We like to go for walks and explore the countryside.
13:27Jade's work means a lot of driving.
13:30She's confident behind the wheel and, after passing her test three years ago,
13:34decided to fit a dash cam in her car.
13:37It's just to reassure myself that if something was to have ever happened,
13:42then I have the tape as well as just witness statements.
13:46It proves to be a very wise decision.
13:54It's late July and Jade has a week off work.
13:57She's planning to drive to Northampton to stay with her mum and spend time with her sister.
14:03James is covering a shift at work before meeting up with some friends.
14:06It was really hot. I was finishing at three o'clock.
14:10So I was sort of planning just to come home and go to the beer garden, just enjoy the sun.
14:15Jade offers James the lift to work before she packs to leave.
14:19It's 10am as they set off with the dash cam recording.
14:24You drive through residential and then it's just a straight main road really.
14:29There wasn't much traffic around.
14:31Jade was just talking about what she was going to do when she gets to see her sister.
14:35She was just telling him when I was going to be home and what I'd like to be done around the house.
14:41They're halfway through the 10-minute journey.
14:44I was driving down the road at the speed limit.
14:47I was fully aware of everything around me.
14:50In the passenger seat, James is on his phone, occasionally glancing up at the road.
14:55In the distance on the left, he spots a blue car emerge from a driveway.
15:00It just stopped completely.
15:02So I just thought, oh, it's not going to go. I didn't think anything of it.
15:05If they're going to go, they're going to go well before we're there.
15:09Jade sees it too.
15:10She had come to a full-blown stop, so there was no need to be concerned.
15:15But there is.
15:17James, reading a message on his phone, doesn't see what happens next.
15:21But at the wheel, Jade is all too aware.
15:25Just remember her pulling out on me.
15:27Then...
15:28I tried to swerve just before the point of impact, which caused the car to flip and roll.
15:43The first James knows is when he hears and feels the impact.
15:46And all I heard was a massive bang.
15:49And I sort of looked up.
15:50We were on two wheels, sort of on Jade's side.
15:53And all I could see was, like, the hedges the other side of the road.
15:56James was trying to grab me.
15:58To make sure she was OK and she's not going for it alone.
16:02But she had her eyes shut, so then I was panicking even more.
16:05It didn't feel real. It was like a dream.
16:07The roof was crunching and the glass was breaking.
16:10The sound was just horrible.
16:12I only remember opening my eyes briefly and just seeing the cracked windscreen.
16:17I remember the noises.
16:18They were very loud and frightening.
16:21It was just constant rolling.
16:23I thought, it's never going to end.
16:24I do remember thinking that if we were to roll one more time,
16:28it was just going to be the end of life.
16:32After somersaulting four times, they come to a stop.
16:36The camera recording their concern for each other.
16:38Jade, are you OK?
16:40I sort of shouted, Jade, are you OK?
16:42She said, yeah, I shouted it again.
16:44Jade, are you OK?
16:45How are you?
16:46The car has landed on its side.
16:48Jade was on the bottom and I was above her.
16:50And I looked at her and I realised her face was covered in blood.
16:54So, oh, my God, she's really hurt.
16:57We need to get her out.
16:58And then I realised it was me, my head dripping blood on her.
17:01She pulled out on me.
17:03James doesn't realise she means the car he saw earlier.
17:06The blue car was stopped.
17:08There's no way they would have pulled out
17:10as we were sort of right in front of them.
17:13But he's wrong.
17:14He pokes his head out of the shattered sunroof.
17:17I just saw a blue car driving away.
17:19I heard someone shouting, stop.
17:20I literally just was so angry.
17:22My glasses broke in the crash, so I couldn't see anything.
17:25So I actually couldn't make sense of the situation.
17:30Then James notices there's smoke in the car.
17:33He doesn't realise it's from the airbags.
17:36I started to panic.
17:38So I said, I need to get you out.
17:39But the steering wheel was pressed up against my legs.
17:42My head was also positioned in between the window frame.
17:47So I didn't want to risk getting out.
17:49The emergency services would be on the way
17:51and the best thing is just to stay calm.
17:54We were both alive.
17:55But she fears she's injured.
17:57I had really bad back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, leg pain.
18:02I was more in shock and I was just trying to stay calm
18:05to keep James calm.
18:07James is also hurt.
18:09I knew I was bleeding from my head because I kept wiping it off,
18:12but I didn't think anything of it.
18:14The adrenaline just kicked in and my main focus was Jade.
18:18Local residents come to help James out of the car
18:21and one photographs the scene.
18:23A passing off-duty nurse stops and sits with Jade.
18:27She reassured me.
18:29She was very, very good.
18:31She was supportive.
18:33James is led away to sit on a roadside wall.
18:36An off-duty GP also stops to help.
18:39And then they started to ring 999.
18:42The doctor tells the call handler James
18:44has multiple lacerations on his left hand.
18:47I didn't realise because of the adrenaline,
18:49so I just looked down, I could see sort of inside,
18:52and then the adrenaline started to wear off.
18:54I was in so much pain.
18:56The people whose house it was put a bandage around my head
18:59just to stop the bleeding,
19:01and they got a towel from their house
19:03and just put it over my hand and just held it,
19:05and then got me to put my hand up like that.
19:07Moments later, the fire brigade arrived
19:09to help Jade, still in the overturned car.
19:13They free her via the sunroof.
19:15I was in immense pain, and it was very uncomfortable.
19:21Next to arrive are the police.
19:23They just came over to me and started talking to me
19:25about what had happened, asked me if I saw the car,
19:28and then about three minutes later,
19:30that's when the ambulance turned up.
19:33Medics assess James' injuries
19:35and give him morphine for the pain.
19:38Jade is diagnosed with concussion and whiplash,
19:40and also given pain relief.
19:42They're taken to hospital in Salisbury.
19:45On the way, James tells Jade the driver of the blue car didn't stop.
19:50And she didn't have a clue, so she got a bit upset about that.
19:53It was just sort of a shock.
19:55I didn't really know what to say or what to think.
19:58At hospital, Jade is taken to the emergency department,
20:02while James goes straight to the major injury unit.
20:04They said that I was slightly concussed.
20:08Then they started to pick bits of glass out of my hand that they could see.
20:12I looked at my hand, I just thought,
20:13this is never going to sort of be the same again.
20:17Jade escapes with minor cuts and bruises.
20:21James has two ruptured tendons in his index finger
20:23and spends 12 weeks in a cast, followed by three months of physio.
20:27He also needs plastic surgery.
20:31The hand is quite life-changing for the future.
20:35They think they've gone as far as they possibly can with making a fist.
20:39I can sort of get to there, and then that's when it pulls over my knuckles.
20:43It might eventually go back.
20:45You'll never have the full range of movement.
20:48And the accident resulted in other issues too.
20:51Jade is also having trouble processing what happened.
21:11She's too anxious about travelling to finish the final year of her degree
21:15and has taken a year out.
21:18She's also changed job.
21:19Now I've located to a care home because I'm not comfortable driving.
21:25Jade's car was scrapped,
21:26but not before she retrieved the chip from the dash cam.
21:30They watched the footage with trepidation.
21:34It was awful to watch, but then at the same time,
21:37it captured the driver.
21:40We only had witnesses, but none of them caught the number plate,
21:43so it was a massive help.
21:45In court, the 78-year-old driver pleaded guilty to failing to stop
21:49at the scene of an accident and driving without due care and attention.
21:53She was fined £738 and banned from driving for six months.
21:59I don't have anger towards her.
22:01It's just upset how she could drive off not knowing what she had done.
22:06James has had to work hard to improve his mental health since the accident.
22:12It was easier said than done.
22:14There was a lot of dark days after,
22:15but I was so grateful to sort of still be alive.
22:18The couple are even closer than before.
22:21It's just brought us together,
22:23made us realise how much we can depend on each other in times of need.
22:27How they escape with so few physical injuries,
22:40given they've flipped over four times, is extraordinary.
22:43But the best of luck to them as they continue with their recovery.
22:47Now back to a man who's all at sea
22:49because of his own acknowledged poor planning
22:52and the new pal who's trying to get him to safety.
22:55I was exhausted. I was breathing in seawater.
23:15Fellow kayaker Barry's attempt to tow him to a headland
23:19he can use to reboard has failed.
23:22I had the wind blowing against us.
23:24I had the tide pulling us out.
23:27A camera attached to Matt's empty boat
23:29highlights their dangerous situation
23:31as Barry suggests Matt attempts to swim to the cliffs
23:34while he follows towing his kayak.
23:37You want to go back, watch this?
23:39Yeah.
23:40I was behind him, following him closely.
23:44Minutes later, with land no closer,
23:46Matt shouts to Barry.
23:48He's completely exhausted.
23:53I couldn't swim anymore.
23:55I couldn't stand it anymore.
23:58I laid on my back like they tell you to do, just to float,
24:01and the waves were crashing over my face.
24:03Until then, I was quite calm.
24:05I wasn't panicking.
24:06I thought we would get this sorted.
24:08But when he got too tired
24:10and he just floated away from that boulder,
24:13I was like, oh dear.
24:15And it just came to the point where I needed help quickly.
24:20Matt has a radio equipped with digital selective cooling, or DSC.
24:24He presses the button, sending out a mayday,
24:27giving GPS coordinates of his location.
24:29When he got to me, I just threw him the radio
24:32and grabbed onto the front of his kayak
24:34and, you know, just held for dear life.
24:37And then that's where I saw a little bay to our right,
24:40and I said, right, Matt, this is what you've got to do.
24:42You've got to hang on to my boat
24:44and just paddle to that little bay
24:46and get you out of the water.
24:49He was at this time super tired and getting cold.
24:52He was losing the will.
24:54I could see it in his face.
24:55His arms were so tired,
24:57and he was struggling to even hold onto the bow of my kayak.
25:01He thought he was going to die.
25:04And they're just 50 metres from a large cliff,
25:08beyond which conditions are significantly worse.
25:11And I still remember saying to Matt,
25:12we've got to get in before that.
25:15It was hard work,
25:16because as you're towing the kayak,
25:19there was that jolt pulling back all the time
25:22as the tow rope tensioned up and relaxed again.
25:25But he has to keep going if Matt is to survive.
25:28Just put everything I had into paddling.
25:32Minutes later, the moment they reach the beach
25:35is caught on camera.
25:39The relief to feel something under my feet again was incredible.
25:45I think we turned around and high-fived each other
25:48because we were so happy we were out the water.
25:51Within minutes, they hear help approaching.
25:53I just heard the roar of a helicopter come off
25:56over the cliff above us
25:58and see the boats come in as well.
26:01The massive feeling of relief.
26:04You just saw Matt colour change,
26:06and he just got so weak,
26:09and that was obviously your adrenaline head
26:10sapped out of his body.
26:12Matt is embarrassed at the scale of the rescue response.
26:15When you push that button,
26:16they don't know what they're responding to,
26:18so they send out every available resource,
26:21helicopters, land crews, boats, everything.
26:25The RNLI reach him first
26:27and stand down the Coast Guard helicopter.
26:30Matt is relieved by their presence.
26:32After going through all that,
26:33if I had got back on the kayak
26:35and tried to get back to the beach
26:37and gone in again,
26:38then there was no way I could have done that a second time.
26:41Matt is mildly hypothermic.
26:43He's wrapped in blankets and given a lift back to shore.
26:47Barry decides to finish his day's fishing.
26:50I'm happy to stay out.
26:51I've got a safe place.
26:53And I blanked and didn't catch a single thing,
26:56which was even more frustrating.
26:58An hour later, Matt is back on terra firma,
27:01courtesy of the RNLI.
27:03Before they leave, they give him some advice.
27:06They said what I'd done right
27:08was having the right equipment with me,
27:10but I waited too long to push the button.
27:12And they said, you know, another 10 minutes,
27:14you would have been to the point
27:16where you couldn't have, you know, swam anymore.
27:18The hypothermia would have been a real thing
27:20and it would have caused me to basically lose my life.
27:26Matt is now planning to take a safety course.
27:30He's so thankful to Barry and the rescue services
27:32for saving him that day,
27:34he posts a video of his experience on social media
27:37to warn others.
27:38I think the RNLI and Coast Guard are massively overlooked,
27:43but people don't see them as an emergency service.
27:46And I think that's wrong.
27:48That's why I shared my story,
27:49to raise awareness of what the RNLI and Coast Guard do,
27:52and also the fact that carrying the right equipment
27:55will save your life.
27:56Well, Matt certainly felt he learned from that experience.
28:07See you next time for more Close Calls.
28:09We'll see you next time for Close Calls.
28:39Close Calls.
28:40Close Calls.
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29:00Close Calls.
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