Three British climbers found dead on one of Europes highest mountains appeared ill-equipped for their expedition, police said today.

The bodies of Colin Riddiough, Paul Dick and John Plews, all from Cleveland, were discovered on the Mulhacen in southern Spain yesterday.

A Civil Guard spokesman said it was possible they had not intended to spend the night on the mountain, which is in the Sierra Nevada.

They may also have been caught out by the sharp change in weather, setting out on a clear day on Saturday only to become caught up in a bitter snowstorm.

On Sunday morning a fourth member of the party, Mr Riddiough's son Stephen, awoke to find the others unconscious.

After trying without success to rouse them he set off for the village of Capileira to raise the alarm, sparking a major search operation.

The three were discovered dead yesterday afternoon, thought to have succumbed to hypothermia.

The Civil Guard spokesman said their bodies had been taken to Granada for post mortem examinations.

He said the men did not appear to be prepared for the severity of the conditions on the mountain, where temperatures can plunge to -20C (-4F).

"It was not sufficient. The conditions in the winter are very harsh", he said.

While there had been no specific warnings on the day about the weather, there was a general winter warning to mountaineers about conditions.

The spokesman added that the men may have been caught out because they did not expect the weather to change so severely during the day.

But he added: "It would not be a problem for experienced climbers to spend the night on the mountain.

"It was possible they were intending to spend only one day on the mountain and that is why they were not equipped to spend the night."

The men were believed to have left the UK for the trip last Thursday or Friday.

Next-of-kin are understood to have been informed of the tragedy. Mr Riddiough and Mr Dick were from Saltburn-by-the-Sea and Mr Plews was from Redcar.