TRIBUTES have been paid to a loving Bolton wife and mother whose trip to Mount Everest ended in tragedy.

Debra Wilding, aged 49, who died after a trek to Everest Base Camp, was described by her devastated family “as a special person who touched so many people’s lives”.

Mother-of-two Mrs Wilding had travelled to Nepal with her daughter Hannah, aged 23, a former Rivington and Blackrod pupil.

Her husband Ian Wilding, aged 52, said: “For the family this is the most difficult thing we have ever had to go through, we finding it hard but are being very supportive of each other.

"Debra was the most loveliest person, she had an infectious laugh she made friends very easily, she had friends all over the world.

“I am very proud to have been married to her for 29 years and we were looking forward to 20 or 30 years of walking the hills and enjoying the Lakes.

“You don’t expect it to stop so abruptly and with no warning.”

Mrs Wilding attended Rivington and Blackrod School, as did her husband, but they did not meet until leaving school at a mutual friend’s party.

The couple settled in Lostock before moving to Cumbria with their two children where they could enjoy the activities they shared in retirement.

She worked as a languages teaching assistant at schools in Bolton, including Hayward School and the family also lived in France for a number of years.

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The couple regularly visited Bolton where they have family and friends.

Mr Wilding said: “We spent most of our married life in Bolton, she went to school there and had many friends.

”It is lovely to know she is remembered.”

Along with a team of trekkers, Mrs Wilding had successfully reached the 5,364m Base Camp before returning to the hotel in Khumjung where she was staying.

Mr Wilding said they had battled with unusually harsh weather for this time of year — and the starting point was a third of the highest fell in Cumbria.

Despite getting prompt treatment from a trained nurse and receiving 30 minutes of CPR, she died in her hotel room on Monday with her daughter by her side.

Her fellow trekkers lit a candle in her memory at a Buddhist Temple.

Mr Wilding said: “This was her challenge, she was adventurous and she was determined “I had done my challenge of sailing across the Atlantic in a homemade boat, which should have been the more dangerous of the two.

“She was doing something she wanted to do and was doing the training in the run up to it, but that cannot offset the tremendous loss.

“It is so tragic, she had so much to live for, had so many good friends and brought happiness to people’s lives.”

A plaque in memory of Mrs Wilding is to be put on an open piece of land which she transformed and members of the community got onboard to after being inspired by her.

The space will be continued to looked after in memory of her.

A post on Facebook page Walking Down Memory Lane reads: “The people of Horwich would like to extend their sympathy to the family of Deb Wilding, nee Grimshaw, who sadly passed away after climbing Mount Everest.

“If you remember her, please leave a message of condolence, which I hope will be conveyed to her family, to comfort them at this sad time.”