David Rose
Active member
Ok, so this started out as a post on the thread about landowners. I was musing about the position of someone who needed to be rescued from a cave such as Langcliffe Pot - which, though on CROW access land, is currently closed to cavers, while the current interpretation of the law holds sway at Defra and NE. I wrote:
"If there was a rescue inside Langcliffe now, the interpretation of the law as now recognised by Defra and NE would mean that the party being rescued was there unlawfully. They might become liable for any damage to the land caused, for example, by landrover tracks etc; the fact they were down the cave "illegally" would in general make the situation quite unpleasant. There was a rescue in the late 60s in Langcliffe which led to the present ban. I've been down Langcliffe twice clandestinely, and I remember feeling quite uneasy."
So: what would be the position? Would BCA insurance cover cavers who were in a cave such as those as on Great Whernside? And for that matter, what about a party that had "pirated" a cave on Leck Fell without a permit? What if landowners wanted to sue for the damage caused by a rescue? Thoughts, anyone? Might this be another strong argument in favour of extending CROW to caving?
"If there was a rescue inside Langcliffe now, the interpretation of the law as now recognised by Defra and NE would mean that the party being rescued was there unlawfully. They might become liable for any damage to the land caused, for example, by landrover tracks etc; the fact they were down the cave "illegally" would in general make the situation quite unpleasant. There was a rescue in the late 60s in Langcliffe which led to the present ban. I've been down Langcliffe twice clandestinely, and I remember feeling quite uneasy."
So: what would be the position? Would BCA insurance cover cavers who were in a cave such as those as on Great Whernside? And for that matter, what about a party that had "pirated" a cave on Leck Fell without a permit? What if landowners wanted to sue for the damage caused by a rescue? Thoughts, anyone? Might this be another strong argument in favour of extending CROW to caving?