GP, 54, plunged 300ft to his death in the Lake District as he and his wife visited the spot where he proposed to her 27 years earlier

 A GP plunged 300ft to his death when he and his wife set out to revisit a mountain ridge where he proposed 27 years before.

Doting husband and father to two twin boys, Dr Jamie Butler, 54, popped the question to his wife Margaret on Striding Edge in the Lake District in 1994.

The couple, from Altrincham, Greater Manchester, had returned to the Lakes last November to follow the same path and rekindle the moment.

An inquest heard that when the couple reached Striding Edge, Dr Butler walked on alone to find the exact spot where he proposed and a mist came down, dramatically reducing visibility, before he fell from the mountain.

He suffered significant injuries, including a fractured skull, and his body was later found by mountain rescuers below the ridge before he was pronounced dead.An inquest was told Dr Butler was facing unspecified historic 'allegations' and was suspended from his practice at the time of his death, but his doctor said he was sure 'there was no suicidal intention' as Dr Butler was 'determined' to clear his name.

The mountain was said was to have held a special place in the couple's hearts, the hearing in Cockermouth was told.

The inquest heard the couple had taken on the walk in the afternoon of November 2, 2021.

Mrs Butler said when the couple reached Striding Edge she was too tired and Dr Butler walked along it on his own to find the exact spot where he asked her to marry him.

A GP plunged 300ft to his death when he set out with his wife to revisit a mountain ridge where he proposed 27 years before (File image)

In a statement, Mrs Butler described seeing her husband walk off into mist.

After he was gone for a while, she shouted after him but got no response and called the police.

Mountain rescuers found her husband below the ridge dead from multiple injuries.

Coroner Kirsty Gomersal told the hearing that she accepted a post-mortem finding that Dr Butler died from multiple injuries.

Concluding his death was an accident, she said 'his doctor was sure there was no suicidal intention' as Dr Butler was 'determined to clear his name' from the allegations against him.

Mrs Butler said: 'Jamie was a loving husband with two twin boys who he adored.

'He will be forever missed.

'He died doing what he loved.'