Ian GardenerST MICHAEL'S Church in Aldbourne was packed on Friday for a thanksgiving service for solicitor Ian Gardener who died in a skiing accident.

The 36-year-old died after falling while on a skiing holiday in Switzerland.

He leaves a widow, Vivian, and 21-month-old son, Tom.

Mr Gardener, who lived in Lottage Road, Aldbourne, was an in-house solicitor with Newbury-based Vodafone.

The lawyer was skiing off-piste in the resort of Verbier in the Alps when he fell some 300 metres (almost 1,000 feet) after losing his footing and ended up in a snow gully.

The funeral was held in St Michael's Church on Friday morning and there was a service of thanksgiving in the afternoon that more than 300 friends and business colleagues attended.

Mrs Gardener said she did not wish to speak about the tragedy.

Wiltshire coroner David Masters has opened and adjourned an inquest into the death of Mr Gardener, who died on April 2.

Mr Gardener's friend and travel companion Justin Wateridge, who runs a travel shop in Cirencester, has paid tribute to the solicitor.

Mr Wateridge said Mr Gardener was always keen to accept a challenge whether it was in his career or in his social life.

He knew the solicitor for eight years and in 1999 the pair spent five months together on a cycling expedition in south east Asia travelling from the mouth to the source of the Mekong River passing through Cambodia, China, Laos and Vietnam.

Mr Gardener used the trip to raise £18,000 for the disability charity Motivation, one of his favourite charities.

Mr Wateridge said he and Mr Gardener became very close on and after the trek. "You can learn a lot from somebody when you spend five months together," the travel agent said.

"We were close friends and we kept in close contact. We had been planning to go to dinner with them this Wednesday."

Mr Wateridge described his friend as an adventurer. "He loved travelling and was always keen for a challenge.

"He recently went to Bolivia and went off the beaten track exploring.

"He would also do a bit of climbing and he was an excellent skier, and a good friend."

Mr Gardener, who went to school in Canterbury, moved to live in Aldbourne four years ago.