A TEENAGER who was knocked out by a horrific head clash during a rugby match today thanked the medical staff and heroes on the scene who saved his life.

Caleb Dunning, 17, was left severely concussed and struggling for breath after taking a blow to the head during the final stages of an under-18s rugby match at Fort Matilda between Greenock Wanderers and Whitecraigs.

Medics from the club acted immediately by rushing for the club's defibrillator, which advised them to begin administering chest compressions.

Colin Devlin, the first aider present at the match, was able to keep Caleb breathing until ambulances arrived 20 minutes later.

He was then rushed to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow where staff worked tirelessly to stabilise him.

Worried doctors kept the teenager in for monitoring in case his accident had been the result of an underlying medical condition.

But thanks to the swift action of hospital staff and members of the crowd, the young player was able to make a full recovery - and even passed his driving test less than a week after the incident occurred.

Caleb, from Greenock, told the Tele that without the quick response of the medics at the game and the hard work of hospital staff, he wouldn't have been able to recover so quickly.

He said: "I don't remember much of the day but when I heard what happened my first reaction was that I was scared.

"I was scared for myself and my family.

"I was worried about what could've happened.

"I was so lucky that the right people were there to help me."

His mum Yvonne also paid tribute to everyone who rushed to her son's aid.

She said: "The response was amazing.

"The coaches, the first aiders, those in the crowd who helped, my sister who came down to drive me to the hospital - to every single one of these people I would say a massive thank you."

Concussion 'stand down' protocols mean that Caleb's rugby season is now over, but the youngster says he is eager to return to playing as soon as possible.

His brother Isaac says he has been shocked by the speed of his sibling's recovery.

He said: "On the Monday after the accident, we were up at the hospital to see him and had the Scotland v Denmark game on in the TV on the ward.

"Caleb was in the bed strapped up to a heart rate monitor and when Scotland scored we went mental.

"After the goal the nurse came in to check his heart rate, but she saw the score and said she would come back later.

"It was a total turnaround.

"He was sitting celebrating that Scotland had scored a goal when two days earlier he was strapped to a bed unconscious."