BBC News | ENGLAND | Accident ruling on drowned schoolgirls

An inquest jury has been instructed by the coroner to return a verdict of accidental death on two teenage schoolgirls who drowned during an adventure trip.

Safety bodies have called for tighter rules following the deaths of Rochelle Cauvet, 14, and 13-year-old Hannah Black.

The coroner asked the jury to make safety suggestions and is to make his own series of recommendations.

The girls were taking part in a "river walk" planned by Royds School, in Oulton, near Leeds when they were swept away in Stainforth Beck, near Settle on 10 October, 2000.

Licence exemptions

Peter Cornall, water safety manager at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: "School visits usually fall outside the scope of the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority regulations introduced after the Lyme Bay canoeing disaster."

Four children died in that outdoor activities disaster in Dorset in 1993.

Mr Cornall said: "We feel there is a real need for tighter controls to prevent further tragedies."

Assistant North Yorkshire coroner, John Sleightholme, concluded his summing up on the deaths of the girls on Friday morning before directing the jury to return verdicts of accidental death.

The girls were swept along Stainforth Beck

Mr Sleightholme, who will be writing to the authorities with his recommendations, said a verdict of unlawful death by gross negligence was not a viable option in the Royd's school case

Mr Sleightholme also encouraged members of the jury to write down any observations they might have.

Marcus Bailey, head of inspection services for the Adventure Activity Licensing Authority, told BBC News Online: "We will do what we are asked to do, but we would not have been covering an activity like this.

"Schools providing activities to their own pupils are exempt from the regulations... it is not clear why this should be.

"The regulations were based on Health and Safety Executive records... there are a low number of accidents in this area."

ROSPA's recommendations include:

Teachers understanding a relatively safe activity can have the same consequences as more dangerous pursuits.

Teachers have skills to carry out risk assessments and understand that it may be necessary to call off trips

Teachers are made aware of the type of activities where they may need to call in expert help

Parents must be told exactly what their children will be doing and should be given information about the skills of the people supervising the trip

At the inquest, Mr Bailee criticised the fact that no single teacher was identified as the clear leader of the walk.

The outing, which involved paddling along the river bed, was taken by teachers Andy Miller, 48, and Liz Schofield, 28.

Mr Bailee told BBC News Online that river walking should be a comparably safe activity which helps to engender a sense of self value in those who are lacking it.

"We must address this, but fatal accidents in adventure activities are unusual," he said.


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