A teacher broke down yesterday as she told an inquest how one of her pupils was washed past her to her death in a fast flowing stream.

Liz Schofield, 25, was one of two teachers leading a group of 15 children on a "river walk" in Stainforth Beck, near Settle, North Yorkshire, on October 10 2000 as part of a residential trip.

Two girls on the walk Hannah Black, 13, and Rochelle Cauvet, 14 were swept away by the water and died.

Durham University graduate Miss Schofield told the Harrogate inquest that she had been at the back of the group from Royds School, at Oulton, near Leeds, when she heard shouts from the children.

She said she saw Rochelle go past facing in the direction of the flow, with her feet in front of her.

She said: "She was just in front of me. I certainly saw her face as she came to my left. I just had to do something so I turned round and followed her down."

The maths teacher described how she let herself be taken by the flow of the water but clambered out when she realised it was futile.

The teacher said she then heard that Hannah had gone down the river too and moments later one of the boys began being swept away before she desperately helped fish him out with other pupils' help.

Miss Schofield said she had been on eight river walks before the tragic incident but had never been to Stainforth Beck before.

She told the inquest jury she had never seen, or even heard of, handbooks relating to school outdoor activities produced by the Department for Education and Employment and Leeds City Council until after the tragedy.

Royds School headmaster, Peter Roberts, is due to give evidence to the inquest when it resumes tomorrow.