Yosemite climber Andrew Foster died 'saving wife' from rockfall the size 'of a 13-storey apartment'

A British climber who was killed by falling rocks at the Yosemite National Park in California died as he tried to save his wife's life.

Andrew Foster, 32, from Cardiff, was trapped while his wife Lucy, 28, was injured when a sheet of granite fell from a height of 200m (656ft).

It is believed that the couple had been scouting out the ascent from a trail when the rock, measuring about 40m (131ft) by 20m (65ft), fell around 14:00 local time (21:00 BST) on 27 September.

Foster spoke to her husband's aunt and said she was only alive because he had jumped on top of her to protect her.

Foster's aunt, Gillian Stephens, told The Times: "She said 'Andrew saved my life. He dived on top of me as soon as he could see what was going to happen. He saved my life'."

Witnesses said the rockfall was "the size of a 13-storey apartment building".

The park said in a statement that the rocks had fallen from El Capitan, a granite monolith above Yosemite Valley.

"This is the climbing season in Yosemite National Park and there are many climbers on El Capitan and other climbing routes in the park," read the statement.

"Yosemite National Park remains open and visitor services are not affected."

Park ranger Scott Gediman was quoted by the BBC as saying that Lucy Foster, originally from Staffordshire, was being treated for life-threatening injuries. She had been told of her husband's death.

The couple got engaged during a skiing holiday in the Alps in 2014 and got married the following year. They ran a blog, Cam and Bear, in which they wrote their love about outdoor activities.

"We are a young married couple who enjoy nothing more than getting out and having adventures in the mountains together," they wrote on the blog.

"We are not extreme athletes and describe ourselves simply as passionate weekend warriors. While our blog is just a log of what we have done we do hope that it will inspire other people to get out and experience the natural world. We also hope that our experience from years of working in the outdoor industry helps in creating useful, informative and non-biased gear reviews."

Foster, who grew up in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, before attending Cardiff University, worked for Cardiff-based outdoor store Up and Under.

Staff at the shop said in a statement: "Andy Foster was an inspirational member of the Up and Under family.

"He was a highly regarded member of staff for five years, before he took a job with Patagonia.

"He remained a dedicated friend of Up and Under, and was regularly to be found in the store. His passion for the outdoors, and mountains in particular, was enormous and infectious.

"Andy and Lucy's intentions upon returning from Yosemite were, with the help of Andy's father, to covert a van into a motorhome to enable them to explore the European Alps for the next 12 months.

"It was then our hope that Andy would return to Up and Under in a part time consultative role, whilst he also chased other ambitions.

"Andy was highly respected, loved and his loss will be sorely felt by us all.

"Our thoughts are with Lucy and his family."