CAPTAIN AMERICA was rescued by a team of heroes in the Ochils after he broke his leg in three places while hiking.

Crossgates superhero Dave Cunningham sustained a freak injury during the descent from a weekend of climbing and wild camping which ended in a near week-long hospital stay.

Two police officers, two paramedics and 10 members of the Ochils Mountain Rescue Team (OMRT) were dispatched to help him.

He told the Press that he will be "eternally grateful" to them for their efforts after the incident which he says was "total bad luck".

"I still don't exactly remember what happened," he recalled.

"My left leg somehow slipped and it got caught on something so my body momentum kept going. My right side then slipped and with my left leg still being caught, there simply was nowhere for it go and it broke in three places.

"The weather had been perfect, we had all the correct equipment and boots etc, so it just appears it was total bad luck the way my foot got caught. It was instantly apparent that the leg had broken."

He had been camping recently with pal Greg and Greg's son, Finn, reaching the summits of The Nebit and Ben Ever on the Saturday night.

On Sunday morning, they climbed up Ben Buck, Ben Cleuch and The Law, before heading back down to Ever to pack up and head home.

They took the farm track road down towards Alva and the car park and it was at around 150 metres up where he fell, near The Nebit.

Greg called 999 immediately and he lifted Dave's leg back into a makeshift alignment until help arrived.

Dave said: "The first on scene were the paramedics and police, and they were superb, making sure that my leg was made as comfortable as possible and getting it into a splint, and getting the first batch of pain relief (gas and air).

"Because of where we were, and the difficulty in getting vehicles there, the paramedic team and police basically had to walk over one mile up the hill to get to where we were, and they did a great job.

"There were also many other walkers who stopped prior to any emergency services teams arriving, and so much kindness was shown from everyone.

"And whilst there was very little that they could do, two gentleman did stop and waited the entire time with us, and actually went above and beyond by running off down the hill themselves to meet the medics and make sure they could bring them straight to where I was.

"Matt and Ryan were the two guys, and they were obviously very experienced walkers and brought a lot of calmness to the situation, as well as great support throughout.

"The paramedics had managed to get me reasonably comfortable and then we just waited on the OMRT for the extraction."

He was lifted onto a stretcher and into a recovery vehicle which took him to the waiting ambulance below.

He arrived at Forth Valley Hospital approximately two hours after his fall in the afternoon, and he has since paid special thanks to everyone involved in his rescue and to everyone who has left him messages of support on social media following the leg break.

Dave required keyhole surgery and faces a lengthy recovery from anywhere between three and 12 months.

When he's back fit and able, he intends to raise money for the OMRT and get back to running and walking in Crossgates; raising smiles and spirits just like he's done throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

He added: "Once I get back on my feet properly, I will be taking some time out to raise money for them. I'm not sure yet what I'll do but this is something that you just don't really ever think about until you need them.

"It amazes me that these teams are all funded by donations, and staffed by volunteers, and it will be my absolute pleasure to do what little I can to help raise some much-needed funds for them at some point in the future."