THE mother of a care worker whose body was found at the bottom of a Lake District crag four years after he disappeared has thanked those who tried to find her son.

An inquest into the death of 41-year-old Chay Lancaster heard the father-of-three went missing after leaving his mother’s house in Layton, Blackpool, on September 11, 2010.

Despite numerous and extensive searches involving dogs, helicopters and mountain rescue teams, Mr Lancaster's body was not found until July this year when climbers discovered his decomposed corpse near 535 metre high Blake Rigg, Little Langdale, the inquest at Kendal County Hall heard.

"I would like to thank the mountain rescue team, police and the people who found him," Mr Lancaster's mum, Judy, said during the hearing.

"Everybody has been so intent on finding him - if it wasn't for them we would never have got him back."

The inquest heard it was impossible to determine a cause of death because of the state of decomposition and the grandfather-of-three, who was found around a mile from where officers had searched four years ago, was only identified via dental records.

Ms Lancaster told the court her son regularly walked the fells alone.

"We always told him he should tell us where he was going, but he never did, saying nothing will happen to me," she said.

The family only found out where he had been when his daughter Elizabeth looked through a collection of maps and discovered it was one of the Ambleside area that had gone missing.

Elizabeth joined officers from Lancashire Police for initial searches before speaking to police in Windermere.

PC Jo Dyson, who is also a member of Langdale and Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team, said the case was reported to Cumbria Police on September 23 and added the last confirmed sighting of Mr Lancaster was on September 12 at Windermere railway station.

PC Dyson told the inquest mountain rescue teams made regular searches over the next four years - but no body was found.

Cumbria Police received a phone call from climbers on July 28 saying they had located human remains, 400m above the popular tourist spot of Blea Tarn, the inquest was told.

PC Dyson said there was a broken juniper bush with a rucksack containing Mr Lancaster's property in it and his body was located 20m below that.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Ian Smith, coroner for South and East Cumbria, said: "It is impossible to say categorically exactly where he was when he came a cropper. The most likely explanation is there was a simple accident that he lost his footing at a certain point."

Following the hearing, Mr Lancaster's family described him as 'unique, very independent and a lover of the great outdoors.'

"If he had to die anywhere, it was an appropriate place for it to happen," said Mrs Lancaster.