A skier from Northamptonshire has died in an avalanche on one of France's most popular ski runs, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

On Tuesday, a spokesman confirmed that Neil Seaton, from Northampton, had died during a trip in the French Alps.

The 46-year-old was with an experienced guide, when the avalanche hit the Vallee Blanche near Mont Blanc on Christmas Eve.

The party were descending by a normal route when the 15 metre wide avalanche was triggered by blocks of falling ice, Chamonix rescue services said.

Falling ice

A nearby group was able to pull a woman and the guide from the snow, but Mr Seaton was deeply buried.

Rescue workers were able to pinpoint him by signals from a radio transmitter he was carrying as a safety device.

But his heart had stopped by the time he was rescued, and he never regained consciousness.

Thousands ski

Thousands of people ski the Vallee Blanche each year and numerous injuries and deaths occur along the route.

A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed: "We were contacted by the Town Hall in Sallanches on 27 December and informed of the death of a British national."