Real-life stories of heartbreak and hope, direct from the very frontline of the emergency services.

A teenage boy lies on the pavement, bleeding to death from a stab wound; a distraught mum watches, in mute shock, as her daughter suffers a terrifying fatal asthma attack; a young girl is gang-raped and her stricken boyfriend takes an overdose; a disturbed young man flings himself in front of a speeding train at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve.

For ambulance paramedic Lysa Walder, these and thousands of other emergency call outs are part of a day’s work: scenes of tragedy, heroism loss and horror - but also stories of triumph and humour.

Here, she tells the inside story behind the screaming sirens and flashing blue lights of the emergency services.