The wife of a Skipton walker missing in the Scottish highlands said her family is in “limbo” anxiously waiting to find out if he is safe.

Linda Cunliffe travelled with her two daughters to the snow-covered Cairngorms desperate for news of her husband, Grant, an experienced outdoor instructor who went missing last week.

But hopes are fading for the 49-year-old after a third day of searching ended without finding any trace of him.

Mr Cunliffe was last seen last Wednesday and was reported missing on Saturday after he failed to arrive at his accommodation in Aviemore.

Mrs Cunliffe said: “He knows what he’s doing. He’s been climbing all his life.”

She added: “The only thing we can think is that he has fallen and is in a sheltered spot somewhere where they cannot see him, or if he’s had a major fall and the dogs can’t smell him.”

Mr Cunliffe, from Long Preston, near Skipton, is due to celebrate his 50th birthday on February 11 and his daughter, Jessica, is 21 two days later. The couple also have a 16-year-old daughter.