AN experienced climber lost his life after losing his footing on Raven Crag.

Former Ulverston Victoria High School pupil Dr Peter Metcalfe was negotiating a descent route on the fell in April when he stumbled and plunged 30 to 35 metres.

An inquest at Kendal County Hall was told fellow climbers rushed to his aid and administered CPR but Dr Metcalfe, aged 46 from Lancaster, could not be saved.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, area coroner Kirsty Gomersal said Mr Metcalfe was “a very accomplished and experienced climber” who had tragically stumbled as he began his descent on the crag in Great Langdale.

She registered grateful thanks to the Langdale and Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team volunteer Nicholas Wright who attended the scene and also Dr Harold Gordon.

Dr Metcalfe, who was a member of Kendal Mountaineering Club and the Fell and Rock Club, was based at Lancaster University where he had been working as part of a flood prevention research team, studying river catchments, including the River Kent.

He specialised using computer modelling in flood risk management, the subject of his PHD thesis.

After graduating in Mathematics from Durham University, followed by an MSc in computer modelling from the University of Newcastle, Dr Metcalfe had established and run a software development business, Aleph Null Ltd, in Ulverston.

He was the son of Anne Metcalfe, a former Liberal Democrat member of Cumbria County Council and a former parliamentary candidate for Barrow and of the late Robert Metcalfe, the former director at the YMCA National Centre at Lakeside, near Newby Bridge.

A fund set up in his memory raised more than £3,500 for local charities including the Langdale and Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team.

His funeral was held at Tottlebank Baptist Church near Greenodd.