Three injured following avalanche on Ben Nevis

Three climbers are being treated in hospital following an avalanche on Ben Nevis.

Police Scotland said they received a call about the accident at about 12.15pm on Saturday afternoon.

A Coastguard rescue helicopter and members of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team were sent to the scene.

The climbers have been taken to Belford Hospital in Fort William to receive treatment for non-life threatening injuries, the BBC reported.

It comes just a month after a climber died following a fall from the summit of nearby Aonach Beag.

He was with another man who managed to contact mountain rescue which airlifted them to hospital but he later died of his injuries.

A series of mountain rescue services carried out over the first few days of the New Year prompted mountaineering leaders to urge climbers to be careful.

Shaun Roberts, from the nearby mountain centre Glenmore Lodge, told the Scotsman: "What’s really important about when people plan their day is the information that they put into the planning.

"We’re kind of blessed with a quality avalanche information service and also quality weather forecasts. They’re at our fingertips."

He said people need to ask themselves "reasonable questions" about their experience of walking in snow and make sure that not only do they have the right information but they know how to interpret it correctly.