The mountain biker is transferred to an ambulance. Photo: Tweed Valley MRT

A mountain biker was rescued after suffering leg injuries when he came off his machine on a downhill trail.

Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team was alerted by police at 12.10pm yesterday, Sunday, after the rider, from Edinburgh, fell from his bike on the 7 Stanes trail at Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders.

A team spokesperson said: “The rider, a male in his 20s, had fallen from his bike on the Make or
Brake section of the downhill track and had sustained an injury to his left knee and a suspected fracture to his lower left leg.

“Although the ambulance service was in attendance with two paramedics, the casualty’s location made extraction difficult and TVMRT was tasked with evacuating the casualty to a location where a transfer could be made to a road ambulance for onward transportation to hospital.

“The first TVMRT member arrived on scene at 12.30, only 20 minutes after the initial call from the police. The rest of the team members followed shortly afterwards.”

The biker was taken to Borders General Hospital after being transferred to the ambulance at 1.30pm.

Team leader Steve Penny said: “The team is pleased to have been able to assist in the evacuation of this gentleman.

“This incident demonstrates once again that TVMRT’s volunteers are able to mobilise to an incident in a very short period of time to provide assistance.”