A TOP Brit mountaineer has died in a 300ft fall while climbing in Italy.

Ex-RAF officer Ian Atkins, 60, lost his footing and ended on a scree slope on Monday.

A chopper was scrambled at Mt Civetta north of Venice but the dad of one was already dead.

The tragedy happened at an altitude of 2300m in the Italian Dolomites on a path known as the Tivan while Atkins, known to friends by his nickname ‘Ted”, was with pal Nev Taylor.

The former RAF officer engineer, originally from Nottingham, had been in the services for more than 30 years and led the first RAF team to scale Everest in 2001.

Three years later he was back again for another climb there and he took with him a prototype oxygen system he’d invented himself using a condom and Coca Cola bottle.

Cynics said he would die and he did collapse on the ascent but he was saved by another climber and he later put the prototype into use but without the condom.

Two years ago he led a team of sky divers in a world record parachute jump over the Himalayas where they all used the oxygen tanks he invented.

Pal David Whalley of RAF Mountain Rescue said he was a “legend”.