The family of a Lancashire health chief and charity founder who died in a fall while hill walking in the Lake District say he had a "positive impact on the lives of many".

William Bingley, 61, fell up to 60ft at Ravenstonedale, Kirkby Stephen, on Sunday lunchtime.

The chief executive of the Abaseen Foundation UK was airlifted to Royal Lancaster Infirmary by an RAF helicopter but did not recover from his serious head injuries.

Together with his wife Helen, he helped set up the charity which develops healthcare and education in Khyber Patkhthunwa in north-west Pakistan.

The charity was key in transforming a non-functioning and ill-equipped government hospital serving a rural population of 200,000 and also assists with humanitarian relief to natural disasters.

Mr Bingley, from Caton near Lancaster, was one of the country's leading authorities on mental health law and wrote the Code of Practice for the 1983 Mental Health Act.

He served as legal director for mental health charity Mind from 1983 to 1990, was chief executive of the Mental Health Act Commission for England and Wales between 1990 and 2000 and then professor of mental health law and ethics at the University of Central Lancashire from 2000 to 2004.

He had recently stepped down as chairman of North Lancashire NHS Teaching Primary Care Trust and, along with his wife, was a director of Bingley Consulting Limited, which advises public authorities on strategic change.

A spokesman for his family said: ""William inspired great respect and affection in all who knew him. His work at home and overseas has made a positive impact on the lives of many.

"He leaves his wife, Helen, two daughters, Alexandra and Harriet, and stepdaughter, Andrea.

"Details of the funeral will be announced shortly."