Two found dead in Yorkshire cave

The bodies of a 33-year-old man from Darlington and a 28-year-old woman from West Yorkshire were discovered by rescuers early on Friday morning.

They were found in the Alum Pot cave in Selside, near Horton in Ribblesdale, North Yorkshire.

Rescue teams searched through the night after a woman reported her husband missing.

Phil Haigh from the Cave Rescue Organisation said the team of 20 rescuers gathered just after midnight and found the bodies in the cave at 3.20am.

"The cave system at Alum Pot contains stream passages and it looks as though the pair were trapped by rising water," he said. "It's quite tragic."

But Mr Haigh said the area was a popular place for cavers to visit and it was not previously thought to be dangerous.

"This sort of a system is one that is used by lots of groups throughout the year," he said.

"It's a really good introductory caving trip."

Mr Haigh said there were many reasons why the water could have risen unexpectedly and it was not necessarily due to heavy rain.