Tributes have been paid to a hospital radio DJ who died after falling from a cliff while walking on Snowdonia.

David March from Thornton Heath fell up to 330ft (100m) from above Devil's Kitchen in the Ogwen Valley at about 6pm on October 12.

The alarm was raised by a party of walkers who saw Mr March - an experienced walker and regular visitor to Snowdonia - fall on to the path below.

The 36-year-old BBC studio manager was chairman of Radio Mayday and volunteered at the station based in Croydon University Hospital for about 10 years.

He also volunteered at Whitechapel AM, in the Royal London Hospital.

Steve Cleall who also volunteers at Radio Mayday said Mr March was "dedicated and passionate" about hospital radio.

He said: "He was a wonderful person, he always had time for you and would drop anything for you if you needed his help.The last words he said to me was "look after the station I will be back in a few weeks time- I'm off to climb Snowdonia.

"Then I got a Facebook message about what happened and it was such a shock. It was a route that was well known to him, and it was a trip he had done quite a few times. He will be sadly missed at Radio Mayday."

Karla Sweet who volunteered alongside Mr March at Whitechapel AM said she was "shocked and saddened" by his death.

She said: "I remember meeting him when I first started, I was really nervous but he just kept smiling at me every so often and saying, "you'll be okay".

"It was such a small thing but it was really encouraging, it is heartbreaking to hear what happened."

Mr March had worked for the BBC for 15 years, working for the languages' production team at Busch House, before moving to the World Service's new premises last year. Fidelis Mbah worked with Mr March on the Focus on Africa programme.

He said: "David was a gentleman who took his job seriously. He was always attentive to colleagues working with him and he never said no to me when I made requests for assistance or had technical difficulties. "He was always smiling and said hello to people, he was a nice colleague to work with."

Devil's Kitchen known as Twll Du (Black Hole) in Welsh, is a well known route above Cwm Idwal in the Ogwen Valley, that marks a crack in rocks that can be climbed to reach the Glyder range of peaks and Y Garn.

Chris Lloyd from Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team, said Mr March may have made a navigational error in low cloud and described his death as a tragic accident.

Matthew Thorn, Mr March's manager in BBC Global Studio Managers department, said his death was a "huge loss" to their team.

He said: "David was a very considerate man with a huge passion for radio. This was illustrated through his involvement with hospital radio both at Radio Mayday and Whitechapel AM where he coached countless volunteers in how to make good radio."

 

TODAY'S TOP CROYDON STORIES