Hiker saw wife fall to her death

A British woman fell to her death in front of her husband while on a hiking holiday in Italy, her travel firm said today.

Patricia Fletcher, 64, from Nantwich, Cheshire, died yesterday on the final day of a 10-day break in the Dolomite mountains.

She was part of a group of six walkers, including her husband George, tackling a popular walking route known as the Ferrata delle Trincee, or "way of the trenches".

Mrs Fletcher apparently fell about 200m (656ft) after slipping on snow, reports said.

The couple travelled to Italy with Dolomite specialists Collett's Mountain Holidays, based near Royston in Hertfordshire.

Tom Collett, the firm's managing director, said: "It is a very tragic event, and everybody here is devastated."