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Lancaster adventurer injured on Ben Nevis has amputation

Team Easy Shaun Gash being winched on board coastguard helicopterTeam Easy
Shaun Gash being winched on board a coastguard helicopter during his rescue

A paraplegic adventurer injured on an attempt to reach the summit of Ben Nevis has had to have his damaged lower right leg amputated.

Shaun Gash, a 50-year-old charity worker from Lancaster, suffered his injuries during a charity trek in June.

His leg had become trapped under the off-road wheelchair he was in.

Mr Gash was unaware his right leg was caught under his buggy having lost feeling in the limb in a car crash 20 years ago.

His team-mates on the trek became aware of the damage to the leg when they stopped to shelter from a hailstorm.

Shaun Gash Shaun Gash at Raigmore HospitalShaun Gash
Mr Gash received emergency treatment at Inverness' Raigmore Hospital following his rescue

Following the amputation, he thanked medical staff and his supporters.

He also vowed to continue with his fundraising work - a paragliding challenge and canoeing the Zambezi - once the upper part of his leg had healed.

After being injured on Britain's highest mountain, Mr Gash was flown to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness for emergency treatment, before being transferred to Lancaster Infirmary.

Medical staff had hoped his lower right leg could be saved.