A PARAMEDIC found himself having to dial 999 after he broke his ankle while on holiday on the North York Moors with his family.

Malcolm Finn and his wife, Victoria, who both work for South East Coast Ambulance Service, were on holiday with their 14-year-old daughter, Harriet, at High Lidmoor in Bransdale, when Mr Finn fell suffering an horrific injury.

The break was so severe and his ankle so badly twisted that circulation had been cut off and it was only the quick actions of the Great North Air Ambulance Service which saved Mr Finn’s foot.

His wife said: “He was in so much pain. The ankle was at a right-angle. There was no way we could do anything with it. We were very lucky that the air ambulance arrived so quickly. The doctor, Simon le Clerc, gave him medication, straightened his ankle, and then they took off for hospital. If Simon hadn’t been able to straighten it out there and then, Malcolm could have lost his foot, I am in no doubt about that.”

Mrs Finn, who with her family hails from Worthing, Sussex, said the air ambulance crew not only saved her husband but also helped their daughter as the drama unfolded.

She said: “It was a very traumatic experience for her and they just put her at ease while working on Malcolm. We cannot thank them enough.”

The journey from the Yorkshire beauty spot to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough took eight minutes in the helicopter while Mrs Finn followed by road. Her journey took one hour 45 minutes and reinforced the “necessity” of the air ambulance, said Mrs Finn.

Mr Finn is now recovering at home and is hoping to be back at work in the New Year.