Mountain walker plunges 1,600ft to his death

Jan 14 2008 by Sam Wood, The Journal

A GATESHEAD man has fallen 1,600ft to his death while walking in the Lake District.

David Thomas Burke, 41, of North View, Clara Vale, near Ryton, was blown off Striding Edge ridge on Helvellyn, by strong winds on Saturday afternoon.

He fell from the mountain, which is one of the highest in the Lake District.

Mr Burke was in a party of five walkers who were scaling the peak.

Police, Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team and an RAF helicopter were scrambled to the incident.

An attempt was made to resuscitate him at the scene and he was airlifted to Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary where he was pronounced dead.

Neighbours in the village of Clara Vale spoke of their shock last night.

Peter Wright said: “This is a very close knit community and something like this will be felt hard by everyone.

“He was a very pleasant chap, he seemed to work very hard, he wasn’t in the house very much.

“I was shocked when I found out he had been killed.”

Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “He lived alone but his mother used to come to visit him.

“I knew he was going away to the Lakes for the weekend, he always liked walking. It is just tragic what has happened.”

Mr Burke is the second person to die after being blown off the mountain in less than a week, after Bolton man Michael Hollinshead fell 1,000ft to his death last Wednesday.

Insp Barry Bell from Cumbria Police, who co-ordinated the rescue effort,

praised the efforts of rescuers, but urged walkers to be ‘extremely aware’ of weather conditions and their own abilities, while planning to venture onto the Lake District fells.

He warned walkers to be aware of the potential dangers of walking in the area.

He added: “You never get used to any instances like this.

“I understand people enjoy walking, but when you have a devastating consequence when somebody loses their life doing something they enjoy you know it’s particularly difficult for people who attend.”