A PASSIONATE cave diver died in a "hard, difficult and dangerous" cave near Horton-in-Ribblesdale after he got tangled up in loose ropes, an inquest heard.

Colin Pryer drowned in Low Birkwith Cave on Sunday March 13.

It is thought he became caught up in lines, which had been in the cave for around 30 years and then ran out of air.

An experienced and qualified diver, Mr Pryer, who lived in Newcastle, set off to explore the cave after calling his girlfriend, Gemma Jones. He had been down the cave only recently to lay some line in preparation of his dive.

Before this it is believed the cave system was last explored in the 1970s by Oliver Statham and former Craven Herald editor Ian Plant, who himself died while diving another cave in 1980.

When Mr Pryer, who was originally from Southampton, failed to phone his girlfriend she raised the alarm at 3.40pm.

Cave rescuers, members of the Cave Diving Group and the emergency services were all mobilised, but by 11.20pm news reached the surface that Mr Pryer's body had been found.

At the inquest into his death, coroner Geoff Fell heard evidence from expert cave diver Brian Schofield.

He said Low Birkwith was particularly problematic with its restricted passageways, large quantities of silt and loose lines. He added the cave was classed as "hard, difficult and dangerous".

He said it was his opinion Mr Pryer had got tangled up in the line on his way out of the cave and had been trying to cut through it.

"His bottles were empty so at some stage he ran out of air while he tried to cut the line and escape," he said.

The inquest heard that the last cave diving death in the north of England had been in 1994.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Fell said it was not his place to advise people against taking part in risky outdoor pursuits such as cave diving or hang-gliding.

But he asked the Cave Diving Group to see if it could learn any lessons from Mr Pryer's death and investigate if some sort of alert system could be introduced.

Mr Pryer's mother, Margaret, spoke at the inquest.

She said: "He would not want anyone to stop cave diving because of his death."

Prior to this, the inquest heard Mr Pryer, who had been cave diving for four years and caving since he was a boy, had not told his mother he took part in the pursuit.

The first she knew of his hobby was on the day he died.