A group of 11 Skipton college students and two group leaders were rescued from a cave in North Yorkshire after being trapped by fast-flowing water.

Cave rescue services, police, firefighters and ambulance crew were all called to Dow Cave, near Kettlewell, at 3.45pm yesterday to help the students.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said the leaders of the group swam from the cave and raised the alarm at a village store.

It is believed the group were not in any real danger before they were led to safety.

The young people, aged between 16 and 19, are students at Craven College in Skipton.

Principal Alan Blackwell said he would oversee an internal inquiry into the events leading up to the incident.

Mr Blackwell said: "I was notified immediately by my staff and was reassured that they had taken the students to an area of the cave which never floods and offered a safe haven.

"They kept the students in this safe area until the rescue services arrived."

Police, firefighters and the ambulance service supported the rescue effort led by members of the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association.

The students were driven to the Blue Bell Inn in Kettlewell to be checked over by medical staff before being reunited with their families who had gathered at Craven College.