A NORTH-EAST climber broke down yesterday as he relived the moment he was forced to leave his barely conscious father and two friends trapped on a mountain in a vain attempt to summon help.

Stephen Riddiough was the only survivor of the Spanish climbing tragedy in March last year.

The 31-year-old told Teesside Coroner's Court that leaving his fellow climbers in a make-shift shelter was their only hope of survival.

Colin Riddiough, 46, Paul Dick, 55, and John Plews, 31, all from east Cleveland, died after becoming trapped in a snowstorm on the south face of the Mulhacen mountain.

Colin's son, Stephen, risked his life by walking through a snowstorm for help - but rescuers arrived too late.

During the inquest in Middlesbrough, Mr Riddiough wept as he told how he left the three men and, after walking for hours in freezing conditions, reached a village where he raised the alarm.

The hearing heard how all four men were experienced climbers and had climbed in the Sierra Nevada three times previously.

The party arrived at their base camp, in the village of Trevelez, on March 2, where they checked the weather conditions with local people.

With no severe weather warnings predicted, the group set out the next morning and headed for the first summit.

Mr Riddiough told how they had reached one summit about 3,000ft up, when they were faced with atrocious conditions. They decided to head back down and seek refuge, but they were unable to find a manned hut.

With visibility down to less than a metre and winds gusting at about 70mph, the men, who were strapped together, were forced to dig for shelter.

Erecting a tarpaulin and using their rucksacks for shelter, the four men huddled together.

Mr Riddiough said: "We got into our sleeping bags and kept talking to each other to keep each other awake and conscious.

"I realised I had drifted off in the night as it was light when I came round - it must have been about eight or nine.

"When I came to I checked the conditions. That is when I turned round and saw them.

"I saw straight away there was no way they could help themselves anymore.

"That is when I realised how serious they were.

"I went over to my father and tried to wake him and he just sat there.

"There was no communication - the same for John as well and Paul. I was shouting at them to try and bring them round.

"When Paul started talking I could tell he was not all there - I could tell the effect of hypothermia had kicked in and he was confused.

"I covered all three of them as best I could. I put the sleeping bags back over their faces and zipped them back up and put the tarpaulin back, all the time explaining what I was doing just in case they could make sense of what I was trying to do.

"You are always told to never go for help on your own, but that was my last resort to do that. I knew if I didn't go for help, there was no chance."

He managed to reach the base village of Capileira, but the conditions were still so bad on the mountain that it was two days before a helicopter located the site where they had tried to take refuge.

At the time, the Spanish authorities said they believed the men were not properly equipped for the trek up a mountain where temperatures can plunge to minus 20C.

But despite the claims, the inquest was told how all four men were experienced climbers and had proper safety clothing and equipment.

Mr Riddiough, an IT worker at Cleveland Potash, where his father also worked as a mechanical fitter, said: "We were all very experienced. We went for this trip prepared for the snow conditions and had all the survival equipment."

Deputy coroner Tony Eastwood recorded a verdict of misadventure on all three climbers.

He said: "I am told the golden rule in these sorts of mountaineering expeditions is you never go off - for safety - on your own. However, on this occasion there really was no alternative for Stephen Riddiough.

"It is clear from the evidence that all these men were all experienced and had gone with the appropriate equipment.

"It seems that Mother Nature played her hand and they found, without expecting it, very poor weather conditions which overcame the precautions they had taken.

"This, certainly, was responsible for taking the lives of three of the party. Stephen Riddiough was left with no alternative and left in the situation of doing the only thing he could to try and get some emergency help for his father and friends."

The cause of death for all three men was given as hypothermia.