A British extreme sports fan has been found alive in a Swiss glacier after a Facebook campaign to organise a rescue operation when his insurance company refused to cover the cost any more.

The announcement that he had been found was posted on Facebook and Swiss police confirmed that an unidentified man believed to be the Englishman had been located in a crevasse and efforts were currently underway to bring him to safety using a helicopter.

Daniel Hunt, 33, from Shepherd's Bush in west London, disappeared on Saturday while attempting to speed fly down the Lauterbrunnen mountain in the Swiss Alps.