TRIBUTES have been paid to a Staffordshire-born climber who designed a stone shelter for fellow enthusiasts to use in the Welsh Mountains.

Johnny Downes, who moved from his native Stafford to a caravan in Snowdonia, is thought to have died from hypothermia during the severe weather last month. He was 73.

The carpenter had been a member of the Stafford-based Mountain Club and was instrumental in creating the Bryn Hafod club hut at Cwm Cywarch in the Aran mountains.

Completed in the 1960s by an army of club members, the hut helped open up the area to more climbers and has been heavily used ever since. Its slate roof tiles were recycled from Stafford railway station.

Geoff Mason, who now lives in Loughborough, knew Mr Downes from his Mountain Club days.

He said: "Johnny was quite a well-known figure. He was also a character and almost endlessly inventive. He made all sorts of ingenious devices."

Mr Downes retained his links with the Mountain Club until his death.

He was cremated at Aberystwyth Crematorium and his ashes were scattered in the field by the caravan in which he lived.