Police branded 'incompetent' for failing to alert mountain rescuers to abandoned 999 call hours before friends found dead on frozen peak

Police were today accused of 'incompetence' by an angry father for failing to alert mountain rescuers to his son's abandoned 999 mobile phone call hours before he and a friend were found dead on a frozen peak.

Experienced hikers Jayden Long, 19, and Eddie Hill, 20, drove from their homes in Norfolk to tackle Snowdon on February 18, equipped with spikes attached to their boots.

At 4.30pm a 999 call was made from Mr Long’s phone, with a male voice saying: ‘Hello, can you hear me?’

Contact was then lost, with officers from North Wales Police unsuccessfully trying to raise him by calling and messaging the number.

However they failed to alert Llanberis mountain rescue team until three hours later, an inquest heard today, with a major search launched at 11.30pm in ‘full winter conditions’.

Tragically, after the search resumed at first light, the friends’ bodies were found at a 3,500ft ridge less than a mile from the summit with multiple traumatic injuries.

Today a police expert told an inquest into their deaths that the call ‘wasn’t escalated as it should have been’.

But he was challenged by Mr Long’s father over his finding that the force’s failures hadn’t contributed to the deaths.

Eddie Hill (right), 20, and Jayden Long (left), 19, had been tackling Snowdon in 'full winter conditions' when they died in February 2026

Stephen Long said his report ‘isn’t good enough’ and accused the officers involved of ‘incompetence’.

A coroner now plans to write to the force, saying she was ‘concerned about the lack of action’ following the 999 call.

Jayden, who worked at a supermarket in his home town of Dereham, and his friend, a salesman, had driven to the foot of the highest mountain in England and Wales before setting off on their ascent.

Around the time of the 999 call, Mr Hill had sent a message to his girlfriend saying that due to the weather they were going back down an unnamed ridge.

Describing the search, Phil Benbow, of the Llanberis team, said: ‘The weather was full winter conditions, requiring ice axes and crampons and the ability to use them.

‘The team indicated hard-packed snow and ice on the ridge.

‘They (the missing pair) didn’t have ice axes and they didn’t have crampons. They had mini-spikes, they are not a full crampon.

‘They are attached to footwear but are not for full winter mountain conditions.’

Relatives described Mr Hill (pictured) as 'the most beautiful boy inside and out'

After their bodies were found, DC James Lloyd of North Wales Police’s professional standards department carried out an investigation.

He told today’s inquest in Caernarfon that ‘learning’ had been ‘identified’ for control room staff.

‘The incident wasn’t escalated as it should have been.’

Detective Inspector Stuart Bartlett, also of the professional standards department, said there was ‘insufficient response’ in the first hour.

‘More could have been done and should have been done,’ he accepted.

He said the force’s review had been independently assessed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

But the finding that the delay had not contributed to the tragedy was challenged by Mr Long’s father.

Sarah Riley, assistant coroner for north west Wales, recorded a conclusion of accident in relation to both men.

But she added: ’Having listened to the evidence, including that of Jayden and Eddie’s families, I am concerned about the lack of action taken by North Wales Police in relation to the discontinued 999 call.’

She told the hearing: ‘Both Jayden and Eddie died as a result of falling down steep, mountainous terrain in adverse weather with ground covered in ice and snow.

‘I am not able to determine the time they fell or whether they fell together.’

She told family members: ’I am sure your lives have been absolutely shattered by this devastating tragedy.’

She will now write a prevention of future deaths report to the force about her concerns.

After the tragedy, Mr Hill's younger brother, Harry, described his sibling as a 'beloved son' and 'the most amazing brother', the Norwich Evening News reported.

He added: 'Sadly he passed away on Wednesday. Words cannot describe the pain that me and my family and friends are going through at the moment.

'He was taken from us far too soon and he had such big plans for his future.

'He is the most beautiful boy inside and out and he will be missed dearly.'