A TEENAGE boy has died after becoming trapped in a cave while on a school trip.

Police are investigating the death of Joseph Lister, 14, a pupil at Tadcaster Grammar School.

He was brought out of the Manchester Hole cave system in Upper Nidderdale after a search by two teams of about 40 Wharfedale fell rescuers yesterday afternoon.

The boy was treated at the scene, but pronounced dead at Harrogate District Hospital last night.

Tadcaster Grammar School head teacher Geoff Mitchell said: "There's a tremendous sense of grief in the school today. The school feels as if it's missing a bit of its heart."

North Yorkshire Police spokesman Ron Johnson said a post mortem examination was expected to take place later today.

"The Health and Safety Executive has been informed and an inquiry into the circumstances of the death is continuing."

The youngster, from Steeton, near Tadcaster, was with a group of pupils at the Bewerley Park Centre for Outdoor Education, led by instructors from the centre, which is owned and run by North Yorkshire County Council.

The party of 11 was part of a group of about 100 students from the school embarking on the first day of a week-long residential visit to Bewerley Park, near Pateley Bridge.

Activities they were due to undertake included rock climbing, canoeing and fell-walking.

Police spokesman Ron Johnson said officers were alerted at 4.10pm.

"The boy was believed to be trapped in the nearby Manchester Hole cave by rising water levels. At 5.35pm, the boy was brought out from the cave system."

Paramedics treated the teenager at the scene before he was taken to Harrogate District Hospital, 20 miles away.

A North Yorkshire County Council spokesman said: "There was a substantial party from Tadcaster Grammar School. It was the first day of the trip. They were divided up into groups and one group of 11 went in to what is known as Manchester Hole, which is, I'm told, a fairly easy and comfortable introduction to caving. It's the standard introduction to caving that youngsters get. There was an incident in the cave and the search and rescue team were called."

He said the cause of the boy's death was being investigated and was not yet known, but he added the water had started to rise in the cave shortly before the incident.

Updated: 14:22 Tuesday, November 15, 2005