Inquest opens into the death of a climber who was left with life-changing injuries after plunging 500ft while trying to save two men breaking lockdown rules in the Lake District

• Chris Lewis died in September 2022 after being hospitalised with pneumonia 

An inquest has opened into the death of a climber who was left with life-changing injuries after plunging 500ft while trying to save two men breaking lockdown rules.

Chris Lewis, 62, was left needing a wheelchair and round-the-clock care after he fell while on call-out to Red Screes above Kirkstone Pass where he severely damaged his spine in February 2021.   

He died earlier this month after being admitted to hospital with a chest infection and pneumonia.

Assistant coroner Dr Nicholas Shaw said the inquest, which begun yesterday in Cockermouth, Cumbria, was ‘clearly required’, the BBC reports.

He said that following his 500ft plunge, Mr Lewis had sustained ‘a traumatic spinal injury at level C5 and was quadriplegic, requiring 24-hour care’.

Chris Lewis (pictured), 62, was left needing a wheelchair and round-the-clock care after he fell while on call-out to Red Screes above Kirkstone Pass where he severely damaged his spine in February 2021 

Mr Lewis (left) died in September last year after being admitted to hospital with a chest infection and pneumonia

The rescued pair – a 47-year-old man from Leicester and another from Liverpool – had phoned for help after one of them began having chest pains

Dr Shaw added: ‘It appears that there’s been a medical deterioration in his condition and very sadly he died in the hospital.’

Mr Lewis was called out after one of the men who were wild-camping complained about chest pains.

READ MORE: Mountain rescue hero who damaged his spine after plunging 500ft while trying to save two men breaking lockdown rules in the Lake District tragically dies from his injuries

Some members of the rescue team had just reached the pair after midnight when Mr Lewis slipped and fell.

The rescued pair – a 47-year-old man from Leicester and another from Liverpool – were later fined £200 each for breaching Covid travel restrictions to go on the camping trip.

Mr Lewis, of the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team, never recovered from the injuries he sustained trying to help them in freezing weather in the early hours of the morning. 

While he was in hospital after the fall, chairman of the Patterdale team Chris Sanderson said: ‘His principal concern was for the welfare of the fellow he was out to rescue. That shows a lot about him as a man really.’

The chairman of the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association, Richard Warren, described Mr Lewis as a ‘fantastic guy’ and said that after he was airlifted to accident and emergency, the first thing he asked was how the rescued campers were.

Team leader Mike Rippon said about Mr Lewis (pictured): ‘He was a lovely, genuine person and it is a very sad loss. He was very knowledgeable and was a great person to have around in the team. His expertise and companionship was brilliant for new team members’

The inquest into Mr Lewis’s death continues and is expected to finish on February 29, 2024

Team leader Mike Rippon said: ‘He was a lovely, genuine person and it is a very sad loss. He was very knowledgeable and was a great person to have around in the team. His expertise and companionship was brilliant for new team members.’

Despite his terrible injuries, Mr Lewis continued to support mountain rescue teams in the Lake District and, in March 2022, he received the Inspiring Eden Award for his bravery and service to the community.

Mr Rippon said Mr Lewis had remained a trustee, still came to meetings, and was ‘very keen to be back on board and to make the best of things’.

‘Chris was keen to continue putting as much back into this voluntary rescue service as he possibly could’ he said.

At Mr Lewis’s funeral, members of the Mountain Rescue Team gave him a guard of honour, which included ice axes crossed over his coffin as it entered St Peter’s Parish Church in Far Sawrey, Cumbria, and saw several mountain rescuers as well as other emergency services represented.

The inquest into Mr Lewis’s death continues and is expected to finish on February 29, 2024. 

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