haystack

"They are looking for a needle in a haystack, sometimes looking for single beetles - to get hold of the pioneer species before they are allowed to establish," Andrea Deol said.

Before services like his came along, finding work, or even the best route, was like "finding a needle in a haystack", the Freightera boss explains.

Another rescue volunteer, named Justin, compared the effort to "trying to find a single hay in a haystack".

He says looking for shrapnel in patients is like "looking for a needle in a haystack"- it is not always successful and delays treatment of other casualties.

“It’s a haystack of dry fuels that are just waiting to burn,” he said.