British tourist slapped with £12k fine after ignoring warnings in holiday hotspot

Rescue teams were forced to come to the man's aid

The 60-year-old man embarked on the via ferrata (literally iron path) route, a type of mountain path common in the Alps which often includes vertical climbs, staple-like metal rungs and perilous edges.

The man was attempting to traverse the Via Ferrata Berti near San Vito di Cadore despite warnings about the dangers of landslides.

The British man, who has not be named, called alpine rescue service to inform about falling rocks as he attempted his crossing.

This led to a helicopter being deployed from nearby San Vito di Cadore to evacuate the man from the mountain path.

The climber had reached an altitude of 2,400 metres (7874 ft) and was "right in the middle of the landslide," report The Mirror.

The man was not injured.

Head of the rescue service, Nicola Cherubin, said the man had claimed to have not seen the warning signs.

He has since been charged €14,225 (£12,300), with €11,160 of that covering the helicopter rescue, according to The Guardian.

Cherubin told the Daily Telegraph: "Rocks have been falling continually in that area for the past two months. With these landslides, it is not secure. He was really afraid."

Signs on the trail warned both in Italian and English that the route was closed "due to risk of collapse" and ordered people not to "go beyond this warning".

The rescue service said the Ferrata Berti was closed because of "continuous rock discharge from the Croda Marcora landslide".

The Mirror claimed that the man was charged more than two Belgian hikers who had to be rescued from the same trail in July because "Belgium is part of the European Union".