A UNIQUE hilltop recital has been held to remember two climbers from Bradford killed while climbing Ben Nevis last year.

A group of climbers carried a piano to the summit of Claife Heights in the Lake District at the weekend, before a special concert was held in memory of Tim Newton and Rachel Slater.

The couple, aged 27 and 24, were killed in an avalanche on Britain’s highest peak on Valentine’s Day 2016, but their bodies were not discovered for another five weeks.

Musician Robert Richmond had the idea for the concert, titled ‘An April’s Folly’, and organised the event with his son Michael Richmond, who was a friend of the couple.

A team of climbers, including Michael Richmond, carried the piano on a specially-made frame 300 metres to the peak of Claife Heights, with members of Coniston Mountain Rescue carrying additional equipment for the event.

When the piano reached the summit, Robert Richmond performed a programme of classical tunes accompanied by videos, including clips of avalanches.

Mary Brown, Rachel Walker’s grandmother, and her aunt and uncle Rachel Walker and Peter Brown, who all live in Harrogate, attended the recital.

Ms Walker said: “It was beautifully moving, and a lovely way to remember Rachel in such fabulous surroundings.”

Mrs Brown also praised the music, and said her granddaughter’s mother, who lives in Canada, “would certainly have approved”.

Members of Coniston Mountain Rescue were also collecting donations on the day, with profits shared with their Scottish counterparts who spent five weeks searching for the couple on Ben Nevis, collecting more than £800 on the day, with an additional £1,200 in online donations.

Michael Richmond said: “We need to do even more to raise awareness of the vital service provided by Mountain Rescue.

“Rachel was always the first to volunteer for things - and these guys are all volunteers”.

Robert Ingham, team leader of Coniston Mountain Rescue, said the recital was “unlike any other fundraiser we’ve had before,” and that it was a “unique occasion we will never forget”.

The couple were found on March 23, 2016, and their funeral took place in Fort William, near to Ben Nevis, on Wednesday, April 6, 2016, and they were laid to rest in Glen Nevis.

Members of the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team - which searched for the couple - acted as pallbearers after being asked by the couple’s families.

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