A CLITHEROE climber and his partner escaped death in the snow after being hurled 500ft down a mountain by an avalanche.

Chartered surveyor Michael Parkinson, of Twiston Millhouse, and Colin Grimes were 3000ft up a gulley in the Cairngorms when the snow fall swept them down the rocky slopes.

Shop stewards from Lancashire Ambulance rejected the government's latest offer in the "dirty jobs" dispute and looked set to step up their campaign of industrial action.