Britain's Bravest

Dermot Murnaghan presents more accounts of life-threatening emergencies and daring rescues. Combining testimonies from those involved with reconstructions and genuine footage, each edition tells the stories behind Britain’s most extraordinary acts of bravery. This week’s instalment features a yacht caught in a storm off the coast of Scotland; and a digger driver who became trapped underwater when his machine slipped into a lake.

In June 2006, the Vijara yacht was participating in the Round-Britain race – a 2,000-mile course for sailing enthusiasts. The third leg of this race takes yachts around the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, where rocky outcrops and sandbars make for treacherous conditions. Huib Swets, the Dutch skipper of the Vijara, was negotiating this stretch of water with his co-skipper when a massive storm struck. After battling against the elements for some time, Huib decided to shorten sail and take a break below deck.

Dermot Murnaghan presents more accounts of
life-threatening emergencies and daring rescues.
Combining testimonies from those involved with
reconstructions and genuine footage, each edition
tells the stories behind Britain’s most extraordinary
acts of bravery. This week’s edition features a
Royal Navy helicopter crew that came to the aid of
a stricken Italian tanker, a mountain-rescue team
that fought to save a climber who was bleeding to
death; and a young boy who was carried off by a
raging river.
“The difference between life and death is often
luck, sometimes training and – just occasionally –
outright bravery,” says Dermot Murnaghan. “This
series celebrates everyday heroes who put their
lives on the line.” Two of the heroes featured this
week are Aircrewman Jay O’Donnell and Captain
Damien ‘Daisy’ May, members of a Royal Navy
helicopter rescue crew.
On 18th January 2007, the Italian container ship

britain’s bravest(1/10)

Dermot Murnaghan presents this brand new tenpart series exploring real-life emergencies, rescues and acts of bravery. The programme mixes powerful testimonies from the people involved with dramatic reconstructions. Tonight’s episode focuses on an air ambulance crew who performed emergency surgery on a woman who was critically injured in a car crash.

Britain’s Bravest relates the experiences of people who have survived devastating accidents and emergencies. The series features daring rescues from caves, mountains, seas, fires and traffic accidents, with first-hand accounts from the people involved and from emergency services including the fire brigade, air ambulance, police, RAF, navy, RNLI and coastguard.

britain’s bravest

Dermot Murnaghan presents this brand new tenpart series exploring some incredible accounts of real-life emergencies, rescues and acts of bravery. Each edition of Britain’s Bravest focuses on three remarkable stories of heroism, from daring rescues by fire and ambulance crews to individual feats of courage by members of the public. The programmes mix powerful testimonies from the people involved with dramatic reconstructions.

Stories featured in the series include the actions of PC Adrian Smith, who risked his life to avert a car crash in the Birkenhead tunnel in 2006. Smith was on duty in his patrol car when he noticed an out-of-control vehicle heading in the opposite direction. The car’s driver had passed out on top of the passenger and there was no one controlling the vehicle. Thinking fast, Smith performed a handbrake turn, caught up with the stricken car and managed to push it into the tunnel wall and bring it to a halt.