Ed Byrne aids stricken hillwaker

'It's not a tale of derring-do,' says comic

Ed Byrne has helped an injured hillwalker to safety during a hike in the Cairngorms.

He and his walking companion, outdoor writer Phoebe Smith, accompanied stricken Josh Bratchley to safety after he put his leg through a snow drift, twisting his knee.

They came across him struggling through the sub-zero temperatures on his way to the remote Corrour Bothy – a one-room stone building used as a mountain refuge.

Bratchley told BBC Scotland that he initially refused help, but then decided conversation would help take his mind off the pain of his damaged ligaments and cartilage.

Byrne also switched rucksacks with Bratchley, who was carrying a heavy load of wood and coal to leave at Corrour Bothy.

Corrour Bothy nestled beneath Devil's Peak. Our home for the night 16/1/17. #ScotSpirit pic.twitter.com/xJPhsIb6kr
— Ed Byrne (@MrEdByrne) January 19, 2017

Bracthley later tweeted to the pair: ‘Thankyou for the help guys, you made my journey back a lot easier! My knee certainly appreciated your walking pole this morning.’

The comedian told the BBC: 'It's not a tale of derring-do and hanging off the end of ropes.

'I helped Josh by carrying his rucksack which, to be fair to him, was heavy with the amount of provisions he was carrying for his own trip. I gave him my lighter sack.'

But in a possible blow to the Mock The Week regular's ego, Bratchley didn't quite recognise him at first.

'I said to him that he looked familiar and I asked if we had met before in Scotland, or in the Welsh hills,' he said. 'He then told me I might have seen him on TV and it was after that it clicked who he was.'

Byrne is a passionate hillwalker who bagged his 80th Munro – a Scottish summit over 3,000 feet – on this week's walk.