Mountain rescue heroes honoured

Marine Darren Swift has already received a silver award

Two Plymouth Royal Marines will receive humanitarian awards for their part in a rescue operation on Mount Everest.

Sergeant Mark Paterson and Marine Darren Swift were part of two teams scaling the mountain last May when they rescued three climbers in two separate incidents.

In one incident, an injured climber was brought down to camp from 8,000m.

The pair will receive their awards on 6 May at the Royal Humane Society in London.

Vertical slopes

Mr Swift, 30, and Mr Paterson, 32, were part of two teams of Royal Marines and Royal Navy personnel who were attempting to walk in the footsteps of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, 50 years after the pair conquered Mount Everest.

One of the teams came across two climbers, one with a broken leg, and another with frostbite.

One group of men was allocated to help the climber with a broken leg, while Marine Swift roped himself to the frostbitten climber and brought him down 26,000ft (8,000 metres) of near vertical ice-slopes on the north face of the mountain.

Marine Swift will receive a Stanhope Gold Medal which is presented each year to one person deemed to have carried out the most courageous and brave act.

Makeshift stretcher

He has already received a silver award from the Royal Humane Society.

In another incident, an American climber fell from a ledge onto a British climber, breaking his leg.

The expedition team made a makeshift stretcher and sub-zero temperatures and carried them down to the nearest camp.

Sergeant Paterson will collect a joint bronze medal for bravery on behalf of the team.

He said: "It is an honour to be recognised in this way."