A DAD-OF-TWO who died while tackling the Three Peaks Challenge remained an 'action man to the very end'.

Anthony ‘Tony’ Parmenter, from Standlake, collapsed halfway up Ben Nevis in Scotland after suffering a massive heart attack.

His wife, Beryl, who was waiting in Wales to collect the 72-year-old when he finished the challenge, described her husband as an adventurous man who never took life too seriously.

Mr Parmenter was taking on the challenge – which involves climbing the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales in 24 hours – with an experienced group on Saturday, June 24.

Despite his well-maintained level of physical fitness, the painter and decorator suffered a heart attack halfway up the mountain.

Mrs Parmenter, 63, has struggled to come to terms with the loss.

She said: “It’s hard to believe. He was absolutely totally fit.

"He was proud of the 32 inch waist that he’d had since being a boy and he would cycle up to 200 miles a week.

"If he wasn’t cycling he was walking.

"He was just lean and incredibly fit."

An air ambulance from Inverness had to collect Mr Parmenter after the heart attack but Mrs Parmenter said it was likely he was dead by the time he hit the floor.

She was on her way to the hospital when police told her to come into the station, which is where she was told her husband had passed away.

He had been due to climb England's highest peak Scafell Pike in Cumbria after completing Ben Nevis before completing the challenge at Snowdon in Wales.

Though devastated by the news, Mrs Parmenter has taken solace in knowing her husband died doing what he loved.

She said: “He always had to have a challenge in life. He was taken far too soon but he died doing what he loved. He was an action man to the very end.

“He was completely in his element.

"The company he was doing the climb with said he was happy and had a smile on his face. He was where he wanted to be.”

Mr and Mrs Parmenter met while they were both on holiday in Greece.

He asked her to marry him three weeks after they met and the couple tied the knot in 1990.

She said the pair's outlook on life changed when she survived cancer eight years ago, saying: “We kind of had a different outlook on life.

"I came through that and we lived every single day as though it was our last.”

Mrs Parmenter said her husband will be remembered as a fun-loving and kind man.

She added: “He never took life terribly seriously and he often played practical jokes on people.

“He was an open and friendly guy who was always ready to help.”

He is survived by Mrs Parmenter and his two daughters Samantha and Michelle.

A funeral service will be held at South Oxfordshire Crematorium on Wednesday at 12 noon.

No flowers or dark clothes by request.