A TEACHER broke down in tears as she told an inquest how she watched one of her pupils being swept past her to her death during a river walk in Stainforth beck.

In a vain attempt to help Elizabeth Schofield, 25, allowed herself to be carried downstream to try to catch up.

But 14-year-old Rochelle Cauvet and her friend, 13-year-old Hannah Black, drowned in the beck on October 10 2000.

The teenagers from Royds School, Leeds, had been on a school trip in the Yorkshire Dales and the river walking activity had been part of the outdoor pursuits programme.

The inquest at Harrogate heard how Miss Schofield, who had no outdoor pursuits qualifications or first aid certificate, had been asked to lead the walk with fellow teacher Andy Miller.

Miss Schofield said the group had walked about 40 metres in the beck when she heard a child shout that Rochelle had fallen. She turned to see the teenager being carried down the river in a sitting position.

"She was getting to me and passing me. She seemed panicked. I think she probably did not know how to control herself. I just had to do something so I turned round and followed her down," she said.

Miss Schofield said the teenager was being carried by a faster current in the centre of the beck, and, when she could not get close to her, made the decision to stop. She grabbed boulders to stop herself being carried away and crawled out onto the bank.

The teacher yelled at all the pupils to get out of the beck but by then Hannah Black had also been swept away.

The previous day the inquest heard how teacher Mr Miller ran along the bank to reach Rochelle. He managed to grab hold of her jacket but they were both swept over a small waterfall.

"I don't know how far we went - 20 or 30 metres - and I made two efforts to get hold of the side of the bank. The water was quite fast there. I made to grab hold of a broken branch, which hung over the stream. I held on but I could not keep hold of Rochelle. I cannot tell you how it felt," he said.

A third child, who also lost his footing, was rescued by Miss Schofield. She told him to grab on to the boulders as he was being swept downstream, and she then managed to pull him out.

Miss Schofield, who had been on eight river walks in the past, said the weather had not been a concern, even though the jury had been told that half-an-inch of rain had fallen over lunchtime on the day of the tragedy.

She said it had been raining but the water only ever came up to the pupils' knees at its highest. "I think you could feel it but it did not knock you off your feet or anything."

Miss Schofield admitted that before the trip she had never seen any Education Authority or Department of Education safety guidelines on outdoor activities.

Anthony Sugare, representing Hannah Black's family, said that several pupils had mentioned in their statements that they had been reluctant to go in the water and some had slipped or fallen during the walk. He suggested that Miss Schofield should have seen these as warning signs.

But Miss Schofield said she had never been on a river walk yet when someone had not fallen over.

The inquest continues.