AN EXPERIENCED mountain walker died from a result of injuries sustained after falling accidentally during a descent from a famous Lake District peak. 

Ronald Alistair Neely, 51, was found unresponsive by a fellow walker Matthew Davies on a well-known descent path near Foxes Tarn, just to the east of the summit of Scafell, England’s second highest mountain, at around 12.30pm on July 2, 2023. 

In a statement read to the Coroner’s Court in Cockermouth, Mr Davies said that while hiking to Scafell from Scafell Pike, he came across Mr Neely, of Shipley in West Yorkshire, lying on his back, unconscious, and not breathing. 

He said there were ‘wet rocks in the area’ and that he believed Mr Neely may have slipped and hit his head. 

Mr Davies said he could not contact emergency services because of the lack of phone signal in the valley but climbed to the summit of Scafell to inform fellow walkers that he had found a body. 

He said it was only when he reached his car he was able to leave the valley and call 999, at around 3.26pm. 

Assistant Coroner for Cumbria Margaret Taylor also heard a statement from Philip Hall of Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team (WMRT). 

Mr Hall said that he was alerted at around 3.50pm and sent an emergency callout to fellow volunteers, and called for air support. 

Mr Hall said 14 WMRT members were on the scene by 5.40pm, had made an initial assessment, and confirmed that Mr Neely exhibited ‘no recognisable signs of life’.  

Mr Hall said that where Mr Neely appeared to have slipped was steep in places with rock steps’, and was ‘technical ground with use of hand to support needed in some places’. 

A police statement said that upon liaising with WMRT, no suspicious circumstances were apparent, and Mr Neely appeared to have been making his way down an ‘extremely narrow, wet path’, fell backwards and hit his head on rocks. 

Mr Neely’s mother Margaret Elizabeth Shaw said her son ‘always loved travelling’, studied engineering at Leeds University, always made friends, and was ‘dedicated to fitness’. 

She said he was ‘good-natured’ throughout his life, ‘cared for friends and neighbours and would do anything to help anyone’. 

She said: ”I loved my son a lot.” 

The court heard that Mr Neely was completing a two-day expedition and had successfully camped at Wasdale Head the previous evening. 

Mr Hall said Mr Neely was ‘well equipped and clothed for that environment’ and that he was carrying ‘appropriate navigation equipment’. 

A toxicology report revealed nothing of significance in Mr Neely’s system,

Ms Taylor concluded that the report along with the results of a CT scan indicated the most likely cause of death were injuries 'inconsistent with life’, caused by the fall. 

Ms Taylor recorded a conclusion of accidental death.