Cavers rescue sheep trapped underground

Rescuers used their rope system to help the sheep out of the cave

A group of cavers have rescued a sheep after it became trapped underground.

Will Burnett, Chris Arthur and Ami Stidolph came across the stricken animal at New Rift Pot, in Masongill, North Yorkshire on Sunday.

The trio helped lift the sheep, which they nicknamed Beryl, to safety using a makeshift sling made from their equipment before reuniting her with her owner.

Mr Burnett, 33, from Kendal Caving Club, said a large part of caving was "about problem-solving, and that's what we came across".

Describing the moment they found the sheep, he said: "Chris was putting the ropes in place ready for us to go down and spotted something moving below him.

"It was directly over an area we needed to pass through, but it was evident it was alive as well, so we didn't want to leave her to pass away down there."

The group were concerned the sheep might slip further down the cave system

He said it had taken about 90 minutes to bring the sheep to safety, with Ms Stidolph doing her best to keep the animal calm by talking to it.

"We didn't really have all the kit and equipment that you would want for a situation like that so we did a quick inventory and tried to set about making something work," he said.

"Ami was saying that she felt like sheep should always have old people's names like Barbara and Margaret, and she settled on Beryl and we just started calling her Beryl."

He said "life kicked back in" for the sheep upon returning to the surface, and she appeared to be "absolutely fine".

He added: "There's no textbook way of getting a sheep out of a cave, you've just got to do it."

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