EDITOR'S CHOICE READER VIEWS Church funds; crossing confusion and festival praise - your views WORTH VALLEY NEWS Villagers enjoy impressive turnout KNIGHTS OUT WHAT'S ON from July 17 MEMORY LANE Extra special Sunday school walk at Sutton AIRE VALLEY NEWS Clowning around at gala CARTOONS View our Hambone, every day! Or view our Honeyball! GET OUR NEWS BY E-MAIL Just register

Most read Comments 1 Nursery is buzzing with activity, say inspectors 2 Students’ success to be celebrated 3 Keighley suffer a promotion setback 4 Awareness of drugs leads to accolades 5 Zoe happy to swap salon for welder’s yard 6 Pensioner angry as play ban is ignored 7 Bobby Paul is geared up for 500-mile beat 8 Hard work pays off for hospital trainees 9 Grants open up new route for disabled riders 10 Business network’s cash for hospice Today | 7 Days 1 Pensioner angry as play ban is ignored 2 Shouting about noise and John Lewis list - you views 3 Church funds; crossing confusion and festival praise - your views 4 Court lists returning to KN after fees axed 5 Greenhead plan deferred 6 School ‘is hit’ over parents’ gang fears 7 New bid to clamp down on gang wars 8 Housing trust to expand recycling 9 Racial prejudice claim is totally unjustified, says chairman 10 Councillors see red over school colours

An inquest heard today how a Keighley engineer and her work colleague died in a popular cave when they became trapped in strong waters.

Caroline Fletcher, 28, from Riddlesden, and 33-year-old Stuart Goodwill of Darlington were found - tied together - by the Cave Rescue Organisation in Lower Long Churn, Selside, in the early hours of December 28.

The inquest - held in Skipton - was told that Mr Goodwill, an experienced caver, was supervising Ms Fletcher on her first potholing trip when one of them fell in a pool of water and probably pulled in the other.

David Gallivan, who supervised the rescue operation, said this might have happened after the pair were caught in a small flood and tried to exit the cave because they were wet and cold.

Stating he could only make an assumption, Mr Gallivan said: "They would have thought that the bigger danger was staying there.

"Stuart got across into the second oxbow and tied a rope to Caroline and then got back down the rope and then they both tried to exit the first oxbow.

"The water has got hold of one of them and taken them both down - because of the volume of water they would have drowned.

"Where they were found I would have thought that the water levels would have been fairly high. They had no chance of getting out - the volume of water going down the cave is so strong you would not have a chance.

"Looking at how they were found, there was a tangle of ropes wrapped around Stuart and Caroline."

He said that if the pair had stayed in the cave, they would probably have been safe.

Mr Gallivan said: "We will never know what happened, but my assumption is that if they could have stayed and waited it out they would have been fine.

"Their decision to exit the cave for whatever reason was their mistake."

Mr Goodwill and Ms Fletcher were both engineers - he worked for Skipton-based JN Bentleys while Miss Fletcher was employed by its subsidiary, Mott MacDonald Bentley.

In a statement, her father Paul Fletcher said Caroline "always tried to improve herself" at work and that her death had hit the family very hard.

He said: "Caroline was the life and soul of any party. She would walk into a room without knowing anyone and within a couple of minutes would know everyone.

"Caroline loved music and she played guitar in a band. She was an outdoor person who enjoyed going out with friends every week."

Mr Goodwill's wife, Claire, who first alerted police to the incident when her husband failed to return home, said he had loved the outdoors and even founded a climbing club in St Helens.

In a statement, she said: "Stuart had been caving since he was 16. He caved every week for several years.

"He would never go caving if it was unsafe. He would tell me what cave he was planning to go to and who he was with.

"He would ring me when he went into the cave - and say how long he would be in there for - and when he came out of the cave."

Mr Gallivan said the pair were both found wearing harnesses and had the necessary equipment for potholing.

But he warned that lessons should be learned from the tragedy.

He said cavers should research what the weather conditions have been in the area prior to their trip, as well as on the day, and that anyone thinking of going caving should inform someone of their plans.

Concerned relatives should call the police, he said.

Coroner Geoff Fell said he was sure that Mr Goodwill made what he thought was the right decision for the pair in the cave.

He said: "As an experienced caver, Stuart would have been reluctant to leave her. He would have been concerned for her and her general well being.

"It is easy for me to say they should have stayed until the water in the oxbow went down but I wasn't there. I do not know what decision Stuart and Caroline had to make.

"North Yorkshire has a great many activities. By all means, enjoy these activities but do plan. There is always a risk and I have to say that if risks weren't involved people would not do it anyway."

He offered his condolences to the families and recorded verdicts of accidental death.

5:49pm Thursday 15th May 2008

Print

Email this