Cyclists warned off copying Danny MacAskill after Skye rescue

Mountain bikers heading for the Cuillin range in Skye are being warned not to imitate stunt cyclist Danny MacAskill after a woman had to be rescued by helicopter after breaking her leg.

Danny MacAskill's 2014 film The Ridge saw him climb to 3,200ft

The Swiss cyclist was rescued after crashing among boulders nearly 2,000ft up in Coire Lagan last Friday.

A film by MacAskill of tricks performed high in the mountain range three years ago - The Ridge - has been viewed more than 50 million times online.

The woman was winched aboard a Coastguard helicopter and flown to the Dr MacKinnon Memorial Hospital Broadford Hospital in Skye for treatment to a lower leg.

She is reported to have since flown home to Switzerland.

The alarm had been raised when a walker - possibly the woman’s companion - reached the Glenbrittle campsite.

Gerry Akroyd, leader of the Skye Mountain Rescue Team, which also took part in the rescue, urged mountain bikers not to attempt to emulate MacAskill.

He was reported by the West Highland Free Press as saying: “She was up on some of the boulders in Coire Lagan and took a bit of a tumble.

“She had all the gear on – helmet and knee pads, thankfully.

“But I think the message for anyone heading up into the Cuillins is – don’t try to outdo Danny MacAskill.”

A spokesman for the team told the BBC: “We have been coming across people on bikes in places they shouldn’t really be.

“Once they do get to these places they soon realise that in reality it is a very different prospect from what they thought it would be like.

“Our message is please don’t try and be like Danny MacAskill.”

However, another official played down the link with the stunt cyclist.

He told The Scotsman: “A lot of people take their bikes into the Cuillin, and they have been doing so long before Danny MacAskill.”