LAVA bombs, burning rockfall and poisonous gas clouds – just some of the threats Scots adventurer Aldo Kane faced down when he went inside the world’s deadliest volcano for a new two-part BBC documentary.

The former Royal Marines Commando from Ayrshire led an expedition which involved an international team of scientists, geologists and filmmakers, including TV doctor Xand van Tulleken.

Kane spent more than two weeks living next to a lava lake inside Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo and narrowly avoided death in an avalanche of red hot rocks.

After leaving the military the 39-year-old from Kilwinning set up Vertical Planet, a risk management company for film and television crews, and has worked with worked with A-list actors Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill and Adrien Brody.

He described his latest TV project – Expedition Volcano – as being “right on the edge of my tolerance for risk”.

Kane and his team of three abseiled into the volcano to rig two miles of ropes and set up a camp for scientists.

“It was one of the most dangerous places to camp in the world,” he said. “When I think back to when I was a boy scout in Kilwinning, we were given a book which gave us tips for safe camping –

this expedition was the antithesis of that.”

Kane repeatedly scaled the 11,000 feet peak to carry four tonnes of supplies inside so that the camp was ready for the TV crew.

He said: “You’re in one of the most active volcanoes in the world when it’s erupting, you’ve got rockfall, lava bombs, bad weather and twenty people living in the crater. It feels like you’re asking for trouble.

“One day we got caught out by a hailstorm when we were inside the crater. It was like something from a nightmare that you could never imagine. It brought down a lot of rocks. It’s one of the most terrifying sights you can see, these hot sharp rocks tumbling towards you. If they hit your head or touch your ropes when you’re on them you’re dead. Every time you do the 500-metres descent into the crater you’re risking your life.

“You can mitigate against risks, but when there’s tonnes of rocks tumbling down a slope towards you inside a volcano, or there’s a lava bomb fired out of a new vent, there’s not much you can do apart from hunker down and hope you aren’t hit.”

Kane and his crew also had to contend with poisonous gas clouds. “We were down there for about two weeks, living breathing, eating and sleeping inside the crater,” he said. “You have to wear a mask most of the time to stop all of the poisonous, noxious gasses. And we all had to wear gas monitors because you have big clouds of CO2 that are heavier than air and roll across at ground level and kill you while you’re sleeping.”

It is hoped the data collected inside the volcano will help scientists create an early-warning system to alert impoverished locals to eruptions, allowing them to escape before lava flows engulf them.

Kane explained: “It’s the poorest country on earth so it just doesn’t have the infrastructure to deal with these natural disasters. And from natural disasters you end up with cholera and famine, which leads to conflict.”

DR Congo – which is as large as Western Europe and is rich in diamonds, gold and natural resources – was devastated by a civil war which lasted almost a decade. The conflict, known as Africa's first world war, broke out in 1994 and led to the loss of some five million lives. Violent rebel groups still operate in the dense jungle around the volcano, often recruiting child soldiers.

Kane, who joined the Royal Marines when he was aged 16, had the chance to meet former child soldiers at a boxing club set up to rehabilitate them.

He said: “These kids are getting turned out onto the street after being involved in brutal killing. They’ve got no direction and are often suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The boxing club is run by a former child soldier who understands what they’re going through. It was a real privilege to interact with them at the club and you’ll see the great work they’re doing in episode two.”

Expedition Volcano will be on BBC 2 at 9pm on Sunday November 25 and the following Sunday, December 2.