A TISBURY businessman died when he fell nearly 700ft over the edge of an outcrop on Mount Snowdon, in Wales.

Peter Knight (52), of Cuffs Lane, was co-director with his wife Deborah Knight (50) of the agricultural and forestry machinery firm Mekanag, which it is understood they established from scratch six years ago.

Concerned that he had not returned from a trip to Snowdonia, Mrs Knight reported her husband missing to the police.

A day later, his body was found by mountain rescuers. Five mountain rescue teams with more than 60 people and an RAF helicopter were involved in the search for Mr Knight, who had been out running in the hills.

He had gone out alone into the mountains and, although he had told his wife he was going, he had not let her know the route he was planning to take, making it difficult for the rescue teams to know where to search.

Aled Taylor, chairman of Llanberis mountain rescue, Snowdonia, said: "It is like looking for a needle in a haystack in such a large area.

"The bad weather with low cloud and rain made the search very difficult."

Mr Knight had set off when the weather was good but bad weather had been forecast and he was only wearing light clothing

Mr Taylor, said: "Finding a body on the mountain is distressing.

"The only lesson is that, when people go to the mountain, they should check the weather forecast and let someone know the route they plan to take."