By Kelly Eve

Last updated 10:19, Monday, 24 March 2008

POLICE looking for a man missing in a Cumbrian forest have found a body.

A massive search was launched in Grizedale Forest late on Saturday night for Malcolm Alan Rennison, 47, of Skipton. Police, mountain rescuers and RAF helicopters were all involved in the hunt for Mr Rennison.

Today police said a body had been found in the area in which they were searching. It has not yet been formally identified.

Mr Rennison was last seen in Skipton by his wife at 10.30am on Saturday before his blue Ford Focus estate was found at Grizedale Forest shortly before midnight.

A search was launched immediately but with the darkness and the bad weather conditions, it was decided to resume at first light yesterday.

A two square mile area of dense undergrowth, with four inches of snow, was being searched in a bid to find Mr Rennison.

RAF search and rescue teams, in the Lake District on a training exercise, were called in to aid the operation by Coniston mountain rescuers.

n Three walkers had to be rescued from the top of England’s highest mountain in the early hours of Easter Sunday.

They were taking part in the Three Peaks Challenge when snow began to make it difficult of them to find a safe route down from Scafell Pike.

One of the men alerted police on his mobile phone at 4.10am near the summit and 12 members of the Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team were called out to help bring them down safe and well.

Snow also caused problems on the trans-Pennine A66, which was closed for two nights in a row on Friday and Saturday.

On Saturday night, 15 lorries became stuck in heavy snow and police closed the snow gates on the Cumbrian and Durham sides of the Stainmore summit for around six hours from 3am yesterday.

Meanwhile a Cumbrian ambulance became trapped in heavy snow in the Sedbergh area and had to be freed with the help of a local mountain rescue team.

The worsening weather conditions prompted an appeal yesterday from the North West Ambulance Service for the public only to make 999 calls as a last resort.