THE funeral of SAS legend and mountaineer Brummie Stokes was held today at Hereford Cathedral.

Mourners gathered in the city centre to pay their last respects to the 70-year-old who passed away on January 10.

Mr Stokes, who lived in Holmer, ran the Taste for Adventure Centre in Credenhill.

He set it up with his wife, Lynn, in 1991 and his two sons, Samuel and Benjamin, helped to run the centre, which aims to give less privileged youngsters the chance to enjoy outdoor activities.

Mr Stokes served with the SAS for 23 years and took part in active duty all over the world.

He was well known for his Everest challenges.

With another SAS climber, Bronco Lane, they both joined an expedition to Nuptse, Everest’s near neighbour in 1975- four men died on that trip.

The following year on an army expedition to Mount Everest, Brummie and Bronco went on to make it to the summit. On the way down, they faced appalling conditions, which resulted in both of them losing their toes through frostbite.

It was 1984 that found him climbing on the north face of Everest. An avalanche wiped out advanced base camp, killing one of the members and injuring several others. Brummie suffered a broken neck.

After leaving the army in 1985 he obtained a permit from the Chinese to climb the north east ridge of Everest, the only remaining unclimbed route on the mountain. At 26,000ft, they were forced to abandon their assault owing to abnormally hazardous weather conditions.

Read the family's tribute to Brummie here.