A SCOTTISH army reservist has told how he was found unconscious by hill walkers after a training march in which three others died.

The man, who has not been named, was making his third attempt at the five-stage Brecon Beacons special forces test march, was discovered on its final leg after descending from the 886-metre (2,906ft) Pen y Fan.

He gave evidence to the inquest into the deaths of L/Cpl Roberts, Lance Corporal Edward Maher and Corporal James Dunsby has heard that the men collapsed on the Brecon Beacons in South Wales on one of the hottest days of 2013.

The Scot was one of four reservists hospitalised during the test march near south Wales' highest peak.

He recalled how the civilians, a man and woman, gave him chocolate and fetched him supplies of water.

Explaining how he came to be found unconscious, 1X told the inquest in Solihull, West Midlands: "I felt like I was just going to collapse there and then.

"So I about-turned and I just tried to make for shelter."

The soldier then lost consciousness and was found by walkers moving west across the Beacons, who activated his emergency alarm to summon help.

The soldier added: "I told them I was out of water and (the man) ran down (to a stream) and filled up a two-litre bottle of water."

Before the march, the soldier said, candidates were given a presentation on the effects of heat illness on "others and yourself".

The reservist was airlifted to hospital shortly after 6pm, having set off at around 7.40am.

Prior to his arrival at Pen y Fan, the soldier reached a ridge and expected to be able to cool down.

"There wasn't a trace of wind at all that day and I didn't manage to cool down as I'd expect," the soldier told the coroner.

"This was my third attempt and I was pretty keen to just get through it."

Asked by the coroner for his view as to why he had become overwhelmed by the heat, the soldier answered: "I think I just pushed myself too hard to be honest.

"I just wanted to get to the end and rejig all my stuff for the next day and crack on."

While giving evidence from a screened-off witness box constructed specifically to protect military witnesses' identity, the soldier was referred to by the cipher 1X.

Earlier, the inquest heard from an Army officer told a grieving family it would have been "too much paperwork" to cancel a special forces test march which led to three deaths, a coroner has heard.

The commanding officer is alleged to have made the remark to relatives of Lance Corporal Craig Roberts shortly after they had viewed his body in a mortuary.

In a family statement read to the hearing by her lawyer, L/Cpl Roberts' mother Margaret questioned why the 24-year-old was "sent up there in that heat" on July 13.

The family of L/Cpl Roberts, who was working as a teaching assistant, were informed of his death at 11.30pm on the day of the exercise.

In their statement, family members said they later visited a hospital, where they asked a commanding officer whether the timing of the march could have been changed.

"He replied 'There would be too much paperwork'," the family statement added. "We were so angry with this answer. We were being told that the march wasn't cancelled to save on paperwork."

Born in St Asaph in North Wales, L/Cpl Roberts joined the Army reserves while studying at the University of Leicester and had also worked as a fitness instructor.

Described as being very patriotic, the banking and finance graduate served with the Royal Anglian Regiment in Cyprus before informing family members that he wished to be selected for the reserve special forces.

The family statement added: "We were concerned, well actually terrified, about where he might be sent and the danger he might be put in.

"But it didn't occur to us to be worried about training.

"We are proud to be his parents. In the days and weeks that followed Craig's death we asked ourselves why he and others were sent up there in that heat.

"We hope this inquest can answer that question."

The inquest continues.