Last updated at 10:18 04 February 2008

A British man has been killed in the Italian Alps after he ploughed into a safety net while sliding down a mountainside - on a mattress.

David Monk, 46, was with three friends when the accident happened in the early hours of Saturday morning after the group had been out for the evening.

Mr Monk, a father of two from Ware, Hertfordshire, suffered severe injuries to his head and chest after he ploughed into the safety net while another two friends were also badly hurt.

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Police said the incident happened at the resort of Sauze d'Oulx near Turin and the men were discovered by passing patrol on a motorski.

A spokesman said that the men had been using a foam crash barrier used as protection on a ski lift support, as a makeshift sledge.

The Italian media reported that he and three friends went sliding down a ski slope on "rubber mattresses".

Mr Monk's widow Anne, 43, told how her husband's death had left her and sons Connor, 15, and 12-year-old Barney distraught.

She said: "We're completely devastated. I really can't handle this. He was a loving husband and father. He was such a kind man who loved his family very much.

"It was just a tragic accident. David was just out having a good time."

This morning Alan McGregor, 46, who was with Mr Monk, when the accident happened described the tragedy after he was released from hospital.

Speaking from his hotel in Sauze D'Oulx Mr McGregor, a surveyor, from Ware, Herts. said: "It was just a freak accident. There was nothing anyone could do.

"David hit his head on a corner post and he was gone virtually instantly. The police and us tried to do what we could but he died there.

"We saw this group of lads playing with a mat that had been taken off from the fence and we just joined in with them.

"David got on the mat as well and it picked up speed very quickly ten seconds later he hit his head and he was gone.

"I can't believe it - there are kids sledging there today where it happened it's just a freak accident.

"He hit the post where the mat had been removed and that was it. It's terrible for his wife and two young kids.

"We tried to help him but the impact was too strong. He went into the gap where the padding was and hit his head.

"We had been out and we just joined some lads who were sliding down on the mat it just built up speed really quickly.

"We are all skiers and we had only been here for two days - we got here early Friday morning and were due to leave on Tuesday.

"My wife is looking after David's wife and everyone is rallying around them. He was a brillant guy and I had known him a long time."

Today fellow Briton Richard Watkins, 41, from Hatfield, was still in hospital being treated for head injuries suffered in the accident.

Medics tried to revive Mr Monk using cardiac massage but were unable to save his life and he was declared dead at the scene.

The third friend was said to be unhurt.

Superintendent Mauro Soraglia said: "The men were near the bottom of the slopes after spending the night drinking.

"They grabbed some foam barriers from the end of the runs and walked up the piste to use them as a sledge.

"They gathered speed and hit the fence that they had taken the crash parriers away from."

Mr Monk's neighbour Patrick Light said his death was "a tragedy". His thoughts were with Mr Monk's wife, Anne, and their two teenage sons, Barney and Connor.

"He was a friendly sort of chap when you spoke to him. I think we're all very shocked by what's happened.

"I feel particularly for Anne, as she's got to bring up the kids."

The family live in a four-bedroom detached house in a quiet cul-de-sac and were said to be well-liked in the community.

Neighbour Margaret Humphreys said: "They are both very nice people. It's a tremendous shock. It's dreadful for the family."

Mr Monk and two other men were using the mats to slide down the mountain when the accident happened, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said.

Italian police are treating the death as an accident.

Sauze d'Oulx is one of the five villages which make up the Via Lattea - or Milky Way - ski area close to the French border in northern Italy.

Hugely popular with British skiers, the resort is known for its party atmosphere.

It offers 140 ski slopes, on a surface of 400 Km and 92 lifts from 1350 to 2800 metres.