Pupil death cave 'rarely flooded'

Joseph went missing as his party made its way out of the caves

A cave in which a schoolboy drowned had flooded "very rarely", an expert has told an inquest.

Joseph Lister, 14, a pupil at Tadcaster Grammar School, died in Upper Nidderdale, North Yorkshire, on 14 November 2005.

He was crawling through a narrow passageway when he was thought to have been trapped by rising water.

Cave training expert Graham Mollard told the inquest flooding was a "rare occurrence".

New fissure

He told the hearing at Harrogate Magistrates' Court that as far as he was aware, the crawl section of the Manchester Hole had only flooded three times before.

He said: "I wouldn't say it was a common occurrence. I would say it is a very rare occurence."

His evidence came a day after cave expert Alan Crossley told the inquest that the area was prone to flooding and anyone exploring the cave system had to be wary of poor weather conditions.

Mr Mollard said a new fissure had opened up in the caving system in January 2005 and he speculated that this could have contributed to the build-up of water where Joseph got into difficulties.

He said: "I think the fissure was obviously feeding water into the bottom end of Manchester Hole."

Joseph was exploring the cave with a group of fellow pupils when he became trapped.

Other pupils managed to escape, but Joseph's body was later recovered from the cave.

The inquest continues.