ONE of four reservists hospitalised by an ill-fated test march told the inquest into three colleagues' deaths how he was found unconscious by civilian walkers near south Wales' highest peak.

The inquest into the deaths of Corporal James Dunsby, who lived in Trowbridge and was a reservist with Swindon-based A Squadron The Royal Yeomanry, L/Cpl Craig Roberts and L/Cpl Edward Maher, has heard that the men collapsed on the Brecon Beacons in South Wales on one of the hottest days of 2013.

Giving evidence from a screened-off witness box constructed specifically to protect military witnesses' identity, the soldier who collapsed was referred to by the cipher 1X, the soldier was discovered on its final leg after descending from the 886-metre (2,906ft) Pen y Fan.

He was making his third attempt at the five-stage Brecon Beacons special forces test march.

Speaking in a Scottish accent, 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: "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."

The inquest, being heard in Solihull, West Midlands, is expected to last for up to four weeks and to examine risk-assessments, briefings and the amount of water given to soldiers before the 16-mile (26km) march.