A mountain race competitor died after falling in Snowdonia yesterday.

Sgt Paul Upton, a member of the Parachute Regiment, fell 150m on Carnedd Llewelyn, above the Ffynnon Llugwy reservoir. He was taking part in the Welsh One Thousand Metre Peaks Race.

Sgt Upton, a 37-year-old father of two, was part of a four-man team. A helicopter from RAF Valley on Anglesey lowered a winchman who used a defibrillator to try to revive Sgt Upton. He was pronounced dead at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor.

Chris Lloyd of Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team said they were alerted to the accident shortly before 11am. Weather had changed rapidly from clear, sunny skies to thick cloud, which he says was not forecast. A posting on the fellrunner forum website counter this view, saying that the Met Office forecast was for hill cloud.

It is believed Sgt Upton may have made a navigational error.

He was from Middlewich in Cheshire and was with the 1st Battalion, the Parachute Regiment. At 1,064m, Carnedd Llewelyn is Wales’s third highest mountain.