THE distraught husband of a South Lakeland mother who died while trekking in the Himalayas with her daughter has spoken of his grief.

Debra Wilding, 49, from Lakeside, near Newby Bridge, died of a heart attack on Monday (October 6) having fallen ill after reaching Mount Everest base camp in Nepal.

"We're devastated," said her husband Ian Wilding. "We've been in love for 34 years, since the day we met, and we were looking forward to the next 30 years together in the home we finished rebuilding last month.

"It's happened just after I had greatly reduced my time spent working and found a better-work life balance. We had so many things we planned to do and so much to live for."

Mrs Wilding and her 23-year-old daughter Hannah, a speech therapist at Furness General Hospital, were two days into the descent from Everest base camp (5,364 metres) when the housewife suffered breathing difficulties and stopped at a hotel in Khumjung.

"I'd spoken to them when they reached the top and I was very proud they had made it.

"They stopped over at the first point of civilisation at what they call a hotel but is really just a rough and ready trekking hut, and they had a celebratory meal" added Mr Wilding, a semi-retired finance director.

The following morning Mrs Wilding was having trouble breathing, was unable to talk and eventually lost consciousness.

First aid was provided by a fellow trekker and British nurse before the village hospital's paramedic and doctor arrived.

But despite extensive CPR, they were unable to revive Mrs Wilding and her body was later airlifted to a hospital in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

"The attention she received was first class," said Mr Wilding. "There is only one hospital in the area and it happened to be in the village in which they had stopped.

"She was looked after a by a doctor who had 20 years experience in intensive care and the British nurse cut his holiday short to go with them and he's still there now.

"People have been absolutely splendid, particular my daughter Hannah who has been so brave and professional - she's been amazing and was helped by three trekkers from the group who went with her on helicopter evacuation to the capital.

"She is obviously upset but coping well but I think that it will hit her when she gets back to an empty house."

Mrs Wilding and daughter Hannah, who enjoyed walking together, had been planning the trip for around a year after her 52-year-old husband of 29 years had taken semi-retirement so the pair could fulfil their dreams and do all the things they had never managed to do.

"She was a very adventurous person - we sail and walk together and she runs on the fells," said Mr Wilding, who had his adventure last year sailing the Atlantic while his wife stayed at home and looked after their 14-year-old daughter Helena.

But an autopsy carried out in Kathmandu confirmed Mrs Wilding died of a heart attack brought on by altitude sickness.

"It was brought on by a combination of Deb having a weak heart, which we didn't know about, the cold, strenuous effort and altitude," he said. "There were bad winds and wintry December weather so it was much colder."

Mr Wilding added that the altitude sickness was 'probably' the biggest factor in triggering the underlying heart condition, as the starting point for the trek was three times the height of Scafell Pike and the group lost two days acclimatising due to bad weather.

"Deb was the most lovely person you could wish to meet, so hard working, caring and made friends so easily and kept them," he continued. "I've lost a wife, the perfect mother of my children and my best friend - we had all the time in the world to be together.

"People even said we were the couple who were always the most in love that they knew, and we thought that we were only about half way through our lives together.

"She will be so sorely missed and will leave such a hole in everyone's life."