The injured Glentress mountain biker is winched into the helicopter. Photo: Tweed Valley MRT

A mountain biker was airlifted to hospital after suffering serious injuries on a forest ‘black route’.

The 40-year-old man fell from his machine on the Deliverance trail in the Glentress Forest near Peebles in the Scottish Borders.

Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team was alerted at 1.15pm today, Wednesday, after reports the biker had broken his elbow and dislocated his shoulder.

Seven team members went to the man’s aid after two ambulance paramedics reported they were able to reach the injured cyclist on foot but could not get him back to their ambulance. The route is several hundred metres from the nearest road.

Rescue team members joined paramedics at the scene and he was treated before being winched aboard a Royal Navy Sea King from HMS Gannet in Ayrshire, and flown to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. The aircraft was unable to land in the forest, but the crew was able to hover over the site and winch the man on to the helicopter.

Two police officers and three Forestry Commission rangers also helped in the rescue operation.

Rescuers at the scene. Photo: Tweed Valley MRT

Dave Wright, TVMRT search manager, said: “Mountain biking is proving increasingly popular in the Scottish Borders and as such Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team train regularly to respond to mountain biking incidents and the common injuries associated with the sport.

“Although serious incidents are relatively rare, this incident shows that joint working between the police, ambulance service, Forestry Commission and Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team is invaluable.”

The Glentress mountain biking trail is one of southern Scotland’s 7stanes centres, which span the area from Dumfries and Galloway to the Scottish Borders. Each has a ‘stane’ stone sculpture depicting a local myth or legend.

The mountain bike trails are graded from the easiest, green, suitable for beginners with basic skills, up to black – rated severe – aimed at expert riders with top fitness and good off-road bikes.

The Glentress black route is 29km (18 miles) long and, as well as Deliverance, has sections with imaginative names such as Soor Plums, Britney Spears and The Bitch.