Blencathra fell sale charity donations returned

A community group set up to buy a Lake District fell has returned thousands of pounds it received in donations.

Blencathra was put on the market by Earl of Lonsdale in 2014 to help settle a £9m inheritance tax bill.

Friends of Blencathra raised about £246,000 but failed to reach the asking price of about £1.7m and the sale was later withdrawn.

The group's trustees have now returned about 70% of the donations and the rest will be transferred to other charities.

A report by the Charity Commission found that £166,426 had been given back to donors, minus a £6 administration charge for each donation.

The remainder, which includes cash that people did not want to claim back, or money from donors that could not be identified, will be distributed to five local charities.

These are; Keswick Mountain Rescue Team, Fix the Fells (in partnership with the National Trust), Friends of the Lake District, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, and Mountain Heritage Trust.

Tracy Howarth, from the Charity Commission, said: "The trustees and donors involved in this case clearly had the best of intentions to protect an area close to their hearts and their community and voluntary spirit should be commended."