Colleagues Stuart Goodwill, 33 and Caroline Fletcher, 28, became trapped after fast-flowing water engulfed them in the Alum Pot caving system near Horton-in-Ribblesdale.

An inquest was told Miss Fletcher, from Keighley, West Yorks, was a novice potholer, probably experiencing her first cave, while Mr Goodwill was a keen enthusiast with years of caving behind him.

The pair, colleagues in the water treatment industry, ventured down the popular cave on December 27 last year.

Skipton Coroner's Court was told there had been heavy rainfall in the preceding days and the pair were overcome by a surge of water.

It is thought Mr Goodwill, from Darlington, may have been only 100 metres from the exit at one point.

The court was told Mr Goodwill probably ventured back to help his companion after a securing a rope higher up in the caving system.

The couple, cold and wet, were then probably overcome by the huge volume of water which pushed them back down the cave.
Their bodies were found tangled up in ropes lower down the caving system.

Coroner Geoff Fell said: "It seems likely to me one of them lost their footing and pulled the other one down.

"I can't say who lost their footing. I am aware that Stuart and Caroline were still roped together when they were found.

"Caroline would have been very cold and an experienced caver like Stuart would have been reluctant to leave her while he sought help."

Cave rescuer David Gallivan said they may have survived if they had sat the flood out.

He told the inquest: "The decision to exit the cave was the mistake."

The hearing was told they had all the right equipment. Rescuers even found the price tag still attached to some of Miss Fletcher's gear.

Although not an experienced caver, the Hull University graduate enjoyed the outdoors and she was described as "the life and soul of the party."

In a statement read to the court, Claire Goodwill said her husband of three years was an experienced caver who relished the outdoor life.

She thought he was caving with someone called Daz on the day he died, but when she failed to contact him she raised the alarm later that evening.

Cave rescuers were sent down and recovered the bodies in the early hours of the following day. Both had drowned.

In recording two verdicts of accidental death, the coroner urged outdoor enthusiasts to plan and to take note of the weather.

"By all means enjoy the countryside in this county but do plan.

"That may reduce the risk. The risk will never be eliminated in potholing but planning can reduce the risk."

Outside court Mrs Goodwill described her husband as "brilliant at everything", adding: "He did everything correctly. The inquest was exactly as I expected.

"Caroline was a colleague and she had asked him a few times to take her potholing. It was something he loved."