Man dies while ice climbing

A MAN has died after falling 80 feet while ice climbing a frozen waterfall on St Stephen’s Day.

He had been climbing with a companion, both from the north-east of England, when one fell on Howgill Fell, near Kirkby Stephen, on the border between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales.

The area is a rocky gully called Cautley Spout, which is normally a vertical waterfall from the top of the fell, but had frozen over making it ideal for ice climbing practice, according to local rescuers.