Johnny Dawes, centre, meets Edale MRT members Jamie Andrew, left, and Dave Torr. Photo: Edale MRT

One of Britain’s best known rock-climbers was reunited with rescuers who, he said, helped to save his leg after he suffered serious injuries in a fall earlier this year.

Johnny Dawes fell while climbing on Stanage Edge in Derbyshire February, resulting in an open fracture to a leg.

He told a friend after the accident that he had seen his sole: he wasn’t talking about a mystical experience, just the fact his foot was facing in the wrong direction.

Dawes, who is renowned for his ‘dyno’ style of climbing, said the fact members of Edale Mountain Rescue Team had training in straightening the type of fracture at the scene meant blood supply and nerve connections to the damaged lower leg were quickly restored, avoiding the risk that the limb might have to be amputated.

Martin Gorman, the team’s press officer, said: “Johnny had suffered a serious open fracture to one of his legs.

“The team gave him pain relief and intravenous antibiotics before re-aligning the broken leg and carrying him off the hill.

The Edale team stretcher Johnny Dawes from Stanage after his February fall. Photo: Edale MRT

“The North West Air Ambulance flew him to the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield where he underwent surgery to repair the damage.”

At the recent Sheffield Adventure Film Festival, team members were able to catch up with the 50-year-old climber’s progress when he visited the Edale stand, along with another well known mountaineer, Jamie Andrew.

Mr Dawes said “I am so grateful to Edale Mountain Rescue team for the way I was treated and cared for at the time of my accident and if it was not for the skills of the team I could have lost my leg.

“I will always be in debt to the team.”

Mr Gorman said: “We wish Johnny all the best for his continuing recovery.

“As we move into the peak time of the year for callouts to mountain rescue, the team are busy training and fundraising as usual to ensure that we are ready to assist casualties throughout our patch, whether they are famous or not.”

In the 1980s, Dawes pushed British rock-climbing standards with the first E8 ascent – Gaia, on Black Rocks in the Peak District – followed by an E9 on Face Mecca, Clogwyn Du’r Arddu on Snowdon.