Esther Dingley: Hiker's ashes to be spread in places she loved

Esther Dingley disappeared while on a solo trek in November

The ashes of Esther Dingley, who died while on a solo trek in the Pyrenees, will be spread in the places "closest to her heart", her family has said.

The 37-year-old's remains were found by her boyfriend Daniel Colegate nine months after she disappeared.

Once they are returned to her family by French police, a private cremation will be held near the mountains where she died.

Investigators said all signs suggest her death was caused by an accident.

In a statement, her family said: "[We] are saddened by the passing of our beloved Esther who, after nine painful months of uncertainty, has now been found among the mountains she loved so much.

"Once Esther is returned to the family, a small, private cremation will be held close to the Pyrenees before Esther's ashes are scattered in a number of places closest to her heart."

In lieu of cards and flowers, the family are asking for donations to be made to Sightsavers, a global charity which aims to tackle avoidable blindness.

Daniel Colegate walked hundreds of miles in the search for his missing partner

"This is a charity Esther long supported in line with her commitment to sharing the beauty of our planet," the statement released by missing people charity LBT Global, which has been supporting the family, said.

Almost £5,000 has already been raised through an online memorial page.

Esther was on the final solo trek of a month-long trip when she last communicated with Mr Colegate from atop Pic de Sauvegarde on the Spanish and French border on 22 November.

He was staying 100 miles away in a French farmhouse and raised the alarm after she failed to complete her trek as planned.

Mr Colegate walked hundreds of miles in the hunt for Ms Dingley and, after a scrap of bone was found by another walker gave a more targeted area for searching, he found the rest of her remains and belongings.

Esther Dingley sent this photo of herself at the top of a mountain on 22 November

French police said they believe Ms Dingley fell from a narrow track above a steep drop and her death would have been instant.

They said a cause was unclear although her walking shoes "were not adequate" for the icy conditions at the time.

Ms Dingley and Mr Colegate, both of whom had lived in Durham, were on an open-ended tour of Europe in a campervan at the time of her death.