A man was stranded at the bottom of a 110m Yorkshire Dales cave after another party mistakenly removed his ropes.

The caver, from Skipton, North Yorkshire, was reported overdue after a trip down the Gaping Gill system on the slopes of Ingleborough. Fourteen members of Clapham-based Cave Rescue Organisation (CRO) went to his aid and a team of four found him waiting for help.

Gaping Gill main chamber

Rescuers praised the caver for leaving precise details of his route with his partner, which enabled him to be found by the search team.

The CRO was alerted by police at 8.40pm on Saturday evening. A check revealed his car was parked in Clapham and the rescue operation began.

A spokesman for the organisation said: “As CRO members gathered, cavers from a different party approached them to say that they believed they had pulled out his ropes, with their own.

“Four team members descended 110 metres into Flood Entrance Pot and found the missing man, waiting patiently, confident that help would arrive. He was able to exit from the pot, once the necessary equipment was restored.”

Flood Entrance Pot leads into the main chamber of Gaping Gill, one of the most spectacular limestone caverns in Britain, with a vertical drop of 105m. The system is one of the most extensive in the country.

Duty controller Tom Redfern stood down the team at 1.40am on Sunday after the successful rescue.