A man has fallen to his death while out walking in the Lake District, a mountain rescue team has sadly confirmed.
The 54-year-old from Cheshire was traversing Striding Edge on Helvellyn in Cumbria.
The man and his wife had set off in the early afternoon in an attempt to climb the summit, Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team reported.
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But when they reached the start of the ridge, his partner decided to stop and they agreed he would traverse Striding Edge alone before returning to her, reports Cheshire Live.
After he failed to come back, emergency services were called just before 5pm and, following a search, his body was found at the back of Nethermost Cove more than three hours later.
Patterdale MRT confirmed he was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor and was judged to have fallen 'a significant distance over broken ground'.
The tragedy happened on November 2, but details have only just been revealed.
The man hasn't been named.
A spokesperson for the mountain rescue team said: "Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team were called out by the Police at 4.50pm on Tuesday, November 2 to search for a 54-year-old man from Cheshire who was reported missing on Striding Edge.
"The man and his wife had set off in the early afternoon to climb Helvellyn via Striding Edge; however, on reaching the start of the ridge his wife had decided to stop and had agreed with her husband that he would traverse the Edge and return to her.
"When he failed to return, she called the police. Team members preparing for training later in the evening immediately deployed to the fell to make a hasty search of the Edge and to escort the woman down.
"Meanwhile, a major search was initiated. Team members were dispatched into Red Tarn basin and Nethermost Cove to search beneath the ridge.
"Assistance was requested from the Lake District Mountain Rescue Search Dogs and five handlers and their dogs were also deployed to search the terrain beneath the Edge.
"HM Coastguard were contacted and a SAR helicopter from Humberside equipped with night vision and infra-red search capabilities was deployed.
"Penrith and Keswick MRT were also called to assist. At approximately 8.20pm a search dog located a body high up at the back of Nethermost Cove.
"From the injuries sustained it was clear that the man had fallen a significant distance over broken ground. He was confirmed as dead at scene by a team doctor. "
His body was retrieved and taken to Patterdale Rescue Centre at 2.30am the next day.
Cumbria Police has appealed for members of the public who may have witnessed the incident to come forward by calling 101 and quoting log quoting log number 159 of 02/11/2021.
