Colleagues and neighbours were stunned today at the deaths of three British climbers on a Spanish mountain.

Survivor Stephen Riddiough, 30, tried in vain to get help for his father Colin, 46, neighbour Paul Dick, 56, and John Plews, 30, who were trapped in freezing conditions in the Sierra Nevada.

The experienced climbers had died, thought to have succumbed to hypothermia, by the time Spanish rescue teams located the snow hole they had dug yesterday.

All three dead men were from the Redcar area of Cleveland, and Mr Riddiough and Mr Dick lived five doors apart in the quiet suburb of Brotton.

Mr Riddiough was a member of Skelton and Brotton Parish Council, whose clerk Liz Sharpe today paid tribute to a smashing guy.

She said: "It is an absolute tragedy, it is a sad loss for everyone concerned.

"We are all stunned and we sent our condolences and sympathies to the families and it's a terrible thing to happen.

He was a smashing guy and very well liked.

A neighbour of Mr Dick said the father of two worked in a supermarket in Redcar and was a keen Middlesbrough FC fan.

He said: "He was a lovely guy."

He used to go across to the Lake District with his mates to go climbing, but he didnt talk to me much about it - we just talked about the football.

It is such a shock for everyone in the area.

The mountaineers set out on Saturday but were caught in treacherous conditions, high on the south side of Mulhacen, the Iberian peninsulas highest peak.

The bodies were taken to Granada for post mortem examinations to be carried out.

The Civil Guard spokesman said the men did not appear to be prepared for the severity of the conditions on the mountain, where temperatures can plunge to minus 20C (minus 4F).

The Sierra Nevada includes some of the highest peaks and most hostile mountain conditions in Europe but overlooks the sun-drenched coastline of Andalucia.

At 11,414ft, the Mulhacen - where the bodies were found - is more than two-and-a-half times higher than Britains tallest mountain, Ben Nevis.

Tourists head for the Sierra Nevada all year round for activities such as hiking, mountaineering, skiing and cycling. But many choose the spring and summer to visit because of the harshness of its winter climate.