VILLAGERS have paid tribute to a 22-year-old climber who fell 300ft to his death from a mountain in Snowdonia.

Guy Litchfield from Durweston, near Blandford, was walking in low mist with a 23-year-old man, who is also from Dorset, when tragedy struck.

Mr Litchfield, who lived with his family at St Nicholas Gardens, suffered fatal injuries after slipping from a gully cliff face on Glyder Fach on Tuesday evening.

An inquest was opened and adjourned after hearing how he had died from a fractured skull.

The vice chairman of Durweston Parish Council, John Paulley MBE, who lives only a short distance from Mr Litchfield’s grieving family, said: “This is an absolute tragedy.

“I live only a few yards away and took a letter of condolence to his mother and father this morning. When I got a phone call from a good friend this morning telling me of the tragedy I was stunned.”

Mr Paulley, who has lived in the village for more than half a century, said: “This young man was only 22; it’s terrible news for his family.”