AN ACCRINGTON woman who fell to her death while walking in the Lake District had strayed off the footpath to look for her teenage son and his friend who she thought were lost, an inquest heard.

At a hearing in Kendal, Furness and South Cumbria coroner Ian Smith said Carole Ashworth, 49, of Pinewood Drive, had "panicked unnecessarily" when her son Richard, 14, and his friend did not appear after climbing Harrison Stickle, the highest of the Langdale Fells, in April.

The court heard that Mrs Ashworth and her husband David, 59, had arranged to meet the boys on the other side after deciding not to walk to the summit.

Mr Ashworth said: "I just thought that they had taken a bit longer than expected, but my wife began to panic, so I said we would go up on the path, but we didn't meet them on the way.

"We got to the summit and we still didn't meet them.

"By this time I was getting quite concerned and my wife was panicking quite a bit -- she was quite a worrier."

He told the inquest that he thought his wife had gone to speak to some other walkers on the summit to see if they had seen the boys, but he lost sight of her.

Mr Ashworth, a retired teacher, found the teenagers, who had just stopped to eat their lunch on their way over the fell, but his wife had disappeared.

A search was carried out by more than 100 volunteers from five local mountain rescue teams. An RAF helicopter also helped to look for her.

The court heard that she was found dead the next day at the bottom of a rocky gully.

A post mortem examination revealed that she had died from a a head injury sustained in the fall. Mrs Ashworth had also broken her leg and ribs.

Christopher Gill, from the Duddon and Furness Mountain Rescue Team, said: "I saw the helicopter hovering around about 100 yards from us.

"I could pick up the radio from the helicopter and heard them telling the Ambleside base that they had seen something and I went to look.

"As I got closer I could see a lady lying on her back.

"I could see the injury to her head and when I reached her I realised that it was obviously a fatality."

Mr Gill said the rocks had been wet and slippy and that Mrs Ashworth had probably fallen about 20 feet on to rocks and boulders."

Recording a verdict of accidental death Mr Smith said: "There was no need for her to worry.

"She just set off on her own without a plan, blundered around and got lost.

"Sadly this lady took a course of action that led to her own death.

"If only she had kept calm and thought about things more carefully."

Speaking after the inquest Mr Ashworth said: "It was an open and shut case really -- just a tragic accident.

"It has been a difficult day, I wouldn't wish this on anyone."