THE JURY in the trial of North Yorkshire County Council over the tragic death of a Tadcaster schoolboy is in its second day of retirement.

Fourteen-year-old Joe Lister, who attended Tadcaster Grammar School, drowned in rapidly rising floodwater on November 14 2005, while on a caving expedition in Manchester Hole Cave, near Bewerley Park outdoor education centre in Nidderdale.

North Yorkshire County Council, which owns and operates the outdoor education centre involved in the trip, is accused of failing to ensure the health and safety of its own employees and non-council employees at the trial at Leeds Crown Court.

The council, which denies two charges under health and safety regulations, claims it did all it reasonably could.

The jury left the courtroom at 11.11am yesterday and were sent home shortly after 4pm. They returned to court today.