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.

Another episode focuses on the exploits of tanker driver Paul Cooke at the Buncefield oil refinery fire in 2005. Cooke was at the depot in Hemel Hempstead loading his truck with aviation fuel when he alerted the emergency services to a leak. The refinery was evacuated just as the fuel erupted in a huge fireball, but Cooke bravely returned to the scene to rescue fellow driver Paul Reed, who was trapped under his own tanker.

Other stories include the exceptional actions of volunteers in the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance Service, who performed surgery on a woman trapped in her car following an accident; and the incredible rescue of two jet skiers by the RAF during the floods in Gloucester this year.