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#REDIRECT [[List of Police Camera Action! episodes#Series 2 (1996)]]
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The '''Liver Run''' was a 27 mile journey transporting a human liver, completed by the [[Metropolitan Police Service|Metropolitan Police]] from Stansted Airport in [[Essex]] to the Cromwell Hospital in [[London]] on the 8th May [[1987]].<ref>http://www.ukemergency.co.uk/the-liver-run/</ref>

== Background ==

A telex came in from Hull to the Met's motorway control on the [[M11 motorway|M11]] that an organ was being flown into Stansted, and would need to be at the [[Cromwell Hospital|Cromwell Hospita]]<nowiki/>l by 12:30. Officers from the [[Metropolitan Police Service|Metropolitan Police]] were sitting in their [[Rover SD1]] 3.5 Patrol cars at J7 of the M11 just outside [[Harlow]], [[Essex]]. An [[Essex Police]] car had gone up onto the runway at [[Stansted Airport|Stansted.]] The Essex car had gone up the slip road at J7 and handed over the liver to Graham Fordham, one of the Met Officers featured in the run.

== The Route ==

The police took of down the M11 at 11:54, facing little congestion. They got up to speeds of up to 120&nbsp;mph. As the motorway ends and becomes the M15 (now North Circular [[North Circular Road|A406]], was under construction at the time) the police exit at the Redbridge Roundabout, and go onto the [[A12 road (England)|A12]] [[Eastern Avenue, London|Eastern Avenue]]. They go up to [[Wanstead]]; this section is now bypassed by a tunnel built under Wanstead Green in 1999 as part of the [[M11 link road protest|M11 Link Road]]. They face heavy congestion along Cambridge Park; however at Blake Hall Road a police officer helps them get through the lights. They proceed to the Green Man Roundabout and onto the former [[A11 road (England)|A11]] (now A106) High Road [[Leytonstone]], where they go along with speeds of up to 60&nbsp;mph, and sometimes taking the wrong side of the road. They continue along the A11, facing congestion at Gardener's Corner near [[Aldgate]]. They go through Leman Street and onto Lower Thames Street [[A roads in Zone 1 of the Great Britain numbering scheme|(A100)]]. They face even more congestion along Embankment, with their average speed being 5&nbsp;mph an hour. PC Les Crossland recalls being " a little bit lost over West London". They go round the Wedding Cake outside [[Buckingham Palace]] and towards [[Hyde Park Corner]]. Here they cut straight across the junction onto South Carriage Drive. The officers arrive at the hospital at 12:25 to deliver the organ for Aliza Hillel, an Israeli woman.<ref>http://www.ukemergency.co.uk/the-liver-run/</ref>

== Officers involved in the run ==

52 total officers were involved, manning the junctions, on motorbikes etc. Here are the main ones, mostly drivers from the two Rover SD1s tasked with delivering the organ.

PC William (Bill) McIntrye, driver of the lead car with liver

PC Graham Fordham, co-driver of the lead car

PC Les Crossland, driver of the video equipped backup car

PC Steve McCabe, co driver of the backup car

== Helicopter usage ==

Many people have asked why a helicopter was not used. The [[London's Air Ambulance|London Air Ambulance]] wasn't established until two years later in 1989, and the day before, a Met helicopter had a crash landing and all helicopters were suspended from use.

== Re-runs ==

In 2014, ''[[For the Love of Cars]]'' did a re-run of the journey, after a [[Rover SD1]] found in an old garage in Essex was set to be restored. The show's stars Ant and Phil, with Met Police SEG outriders, did a re-run. It took them over an hour to complete the journey, compared to the impressive 30 minutes in 1987.

== TV ==

The run has been shown on a ''Police Action Camera'' special in 1996. ''Police Stop!'' did a special episode on it to celebrate its 10th anniversary in 1997. Unlike the Police Action Camera show the year before, the entire journey was shown.

== References and useful links ==
{{reflist}}
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap-pUaxDVsk

[[Category:Medical emergencies]]

Latest revision as of 00:08, 15 November 2021