Bracknell mountain climber died while helping friend, inquest hears

Julian Woodgate-Brown seemed to lose his grip as he showed his colleague David Durrant the safest way of tackling the route on Glyder Fach in Eryri (Snowdonia).

The 41-year-old prison officer from  Bracknell in Berkshire fell a considerable distance onto rocks and suffered multiple injuries.

Mr Durrant carried out CPR and members of the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue team attended, along with medics from the Maritime and Coastguard helicopter, but he was declared dead at the scene.

In a statement read at the inquest in Ruthin, Denbighshire,  Mr Durrant said they had been hiking and scrambling together for 10 years in Eryri and the Lake District, and Julian had completed several scrambling courses.

They travelled to North Wales on June 14 this year and the following day took on a quite challenging route.

They reached a stage where Mr Durrant said “I’m not too sure I can do this”, but his friend said he would talk him through it.

“I’ll come over and help you,” he said.

“I saw his arm come up and then he was falling backwards. I can only assume that his hand must have slipped,” said Mr Durrant.

Kate Robertson, assistant coroner for North Wales East and Central, read a statement from Julian’s wife Joanne in which she said her husband loved scrambling and mountain biking and “had a real zest for life”.

He became a prison officer after 12 years as a tree surgeon and worked at HMP Coldingley near Bisley, where he was chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association.

Mrs Woodgate-Brown said he worked hard to make working conditions in the prison as safe as possible. He was also a trustee of the Vitality Church in Bracknell.

Ms Robertson recorded a conclusion of accidental death.