Hiker plunged 330ft to his death in front of horrified friend who heard him 'scream'

Dad of two Fraser Tait, 35, plummeted more than 300ft to his death while hiking up the notoriously challenging Helvellyn mountain in the Lake District, an inquest has heard

A dad of two plummeted to his death while hiking up one of the most popular routes in the Lake District, an inquest has heard.

Fraser Tait, of Whitley Bay in Tyne and Wear, and his friend Robert Scott were tackling the famed Helvellyn mountain on July 28 last year. It is believed the pair had completed the walk, via the narrow and gruelling Striding Edge, 'two or three times before' so were familiar with the route's challenging and unpredictable nature.

In a statement sent to Cockermouth Coroner's Court, Mr Scott said his friend was in a 'good mood' before they began their ascent from Glenriddding car park, describing the walking conditions as 'good'. Despite the clear weather, during the hike Mr Scott was left horrified after hearing a 'scream' while his friend was around 20 metres in front.

According to Northern Echo, Mr Scott didn't realise his friend had fallen at first until he saw him lying around 100 metres below and scurried down to help. It is said Mr Tait, 35, was actually conscious at this point and was attempting to speak.

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team received a call about the incident at 11.34am, with the first help vehicle being deployed 'very quickly'. At 12.23pm, a volunteer doctor said he received a call requesting a mechanical CPR device - implying a cardiac arrest. Mr Tait was pronounced dead at 12.33pm and a post-mortem examination found 'extensive trauma to the body'.

Assistant Coroner for Cumbria Dr Nicholas Shaw, who ruled the death as misadventure, said: "The fells are dangerous even to people who are experienced, but happily, tragedies such as this are very rare and we get two or three cases each year of somebody falling. Striding Edge is very well known as a walk with some danger attached and you have to be careful. I've walked Striding Edge before. It is rough and has some erosion from people walking on it every year. It's quite possible to stumble and quite possible to fall."

Dr Shaw added that the incident must have been 'awful' for wife Jenna, who last heard from her husband at 7.45am that morning where he explained he was about the to have breakfast before driving to the mountain. Mrs Tait was expecting her husband home around 5pm but received a call from Mr Scott explaining he had fallen and that an air ambulance was on its way.

When she called back for an update she was informed Mr Tait had died. "Perhaps the only comfort she can really gain here is that Fraser died while he was doing something that he clearly really enjoyed and that the end when it came will have been extremely quick," Dr Shaw concluded. Mr Tait also leaves behind a four-year-old daughter with his wife Jenna and six-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.