When the echo of an ambulance siren comes bellowing round the corner, many rarely give a second thought as to what is going through a paramedic's mind.

Everyone knows they do an amazing job in helping save people’s lives, so I was keen to find more about the work they do in and around Borehamwood.

I arrived at the ambulance station in Elstree Way, Borehamwood, bright and early for my shift and was met by paramedic Jason Redman, 44, who drives a rapid response car.

Jason, who drives solo, can give emergency treatment on the scene but if he decides a patient needs to be taken to hospital he has to call an ambulance to get them there.

But in between spending his time checking a patient's blood sugar, cleaning wounds and administering oxygen, he is also called out to more "peculiar" incidents.

He said: "There was once a girl who dialled for an ambulance because she said green stuff was coming out of her hair after she washed it.

"The most common ones are coughs, colds, constipation and toothaches but it can sometimes get worse. Once, a girl phoned 999 because she grazed her finger.

"During the snow, someone said they had an earache. I still treat everything seriously because you never know what minor things can turn into."

Far from being funny, these callouts are actually a huge drain on the ambulance service and can mean patients with more severe symptoms end up waiting longer for help.

But there is a dark side to the job, too. Jason was once kicked, punched and spat on when he tried to help a drunk man get up after he collapsed in a park one night.

And last year, when he turned up to help a woman threatening to kill herself she warned him she might falsely accuse him of raping her when the police turned up.

Paramedics are supposed to be on the scene of a serious incident within eight minutes, so when his radio alarm beeped we jumped into the car in a matter of seconds.

The gentle hum of classical music on the radio drowned out the roaring sound of the siren and flashing lights spark in front of us.

We sped through red lights, hurtled round roundabouts and cruised down the motorway at 90mph to get to a man who collapsed with chest pain at work in Hatfield.

Probably not the best time to remember I get travel sick.

Jason put the man at ease and strapped him up to a mobile heart rate monitor, before deciding he had simply pulled a muscle lifting a heavy box from a high shelf.

Watching Jason, it struck me that his job is nothing like BBC’s Casualty, filmed just a stone’s throw away from the ambulance station at Elstree Studios.

We went back to the car, which is filled with oxygen tanks, heart monitors and even a special blow-up cushion to lift overweight people and were called to another job.

This time, an elderly woman had tripped on the pavement outside Sports Direct in the Boulevard, Borehamwood, and was left with a deep cut to her forehead.

Squeamish I am not, but Jason’s patience as he cleaned the blood from her face and bandaged her forehead with such calmness was nothing short of admirable.

After the woman was taken to hospital she could not thank us enough, and Jason turned to me and said: "That’s why I do this job - it is so rewarding knowing you have helped someone feel better."

Even though he is based in the village, Jason can get called out to places all across the county and has ended up on jobs as far away as Bishops Stortford and Waltham Abbey.

When someone dials 999, an operator will triage the patient to determine if they need an ambulance or a rapid response car.

Paramedics work on staggered shifts, which are mostly 12 hours, with two per ambulance and one first responder per car.

The job of a paramedic is very varied - they never know where they are going to end up eight minutes from now and it can get very hectic.

But the life-saving work they do is vital and it is important for us to know what goes on behind the scenes.

In the meantime, I think I’ll stick to writing - there is less chance of getting travel sick again that way.