An Army reservist has described how he repeatedly attempted to revive a Lee teaching assistant who died just 500 metres from the end of an SAS test march.

An inquest into the deaths of three reserve soldiers, including maths teaching assistant Lance Corporal Craig Roberts, heard he was found collapsed near a stream by another special forces candidate, codenamed 1D.

All three men died from the effects of hyperthermia.

Soldier 1D said efforts to revive L/Cpl Roberts on the Brecon Beacons lasted for around two hours.

The soldier told the hearing in Solihull, West Midlands, he was on his hands and knees ascending a rocky hillside when he heard heavy breathing.

He said: "I saw a Bergen (rucksack) and someone lying down about 20 metres up.

"I got to him and realised it was Craig Roberts. He was lying on his stomach with his Bergen off. I lifted his head and was shouting 'Craig, Craig' but there was no response."

Having pressed the emergency button on L/Cpl Roberts' tracker, 1D rolled his colleague over and put him into the recovery position.

"I was looking around for help and I saw Soldier 1E coming down on the other side," 1D said.

"Craig was probably convulsing about about every 10 seconds. He was quite pale, he was quite hot and his shirt was sweaty.

"I shaded him with my hat and poured water on him to cool him down."

L/Cpl Roberts then stopped breathing and 1D commenced CPR as soldier 1E arrived.

As 1E took over efforts to revive L/Cpl Roberts, 1D went 20 metres further up the hillside and found the dying soldier's jungle hat and weapon.

A three-strong team of soldiers with medical equipment responding to the emergency tracker activation then arrived to help L/Cpl Roberts around 15 to 20 minutes after he was discovered, 1D told coroner Louise Hunt.

1D said: "I took them to where Craig was. We all helped with CPR and moved him into the shade of a nearby tree until mountain rescue, paramedics and air ambulance arrived.

"In total we are probably trying for about two hours to get him back."

Claiming the day was the hottest he had ever experienced on the Brecon Beacons, soldier 1D said: "I just think the weather that day was a bit freakish, out of the ordinary.

"The build-up obviously wasn't in those conditions. I don't think fitness had anything to do with it. Craig seemed like a really fit guy and we all sort of knew our limits."

Soldier 1D was thanked for his efforts by L/Cpl Roberts' parents through their lawyer Soldier 1E, who joined the Army Reserve after serving in the RAF for nine years, told the hearing: "My view is that there is not one factor, there is a series of factors which all fell into place.

"One is undoubtedly the heat and the lack of wind. Another is the length of the march."

L/Cpl Roberts was a University of Leicester graduate, who had previously worked for a financial firm and served as a reserve in the Royal Anglian Regiment.

He was found collapsed at about 3.30pm on July 13 2013.

The inquest heard paramedics arrived at the scene at 4.46pm and an air ambulance at 5.05pm.