A few years ago, Derek Hammon spent nearly three hours crawling through a mile-long cave – it had always been on his bucket list.

One minute, the rescuer was in neck-deep water. Next, he was squirming through a tight chasm before looking down at a wide hole below his feet.

‘Normally, it’s a four to eight-hour trip,’ Derek, 59, told Metro. ‘Imagine going to the gym for eight hours – that’ll give you an idea of how knackering it is.’

But last week, Derek was helping to save three cavers who had become trapped inside the Dowber Gill Passage in North Yorkshire for 42 hours, all while Storm Amy raged above. The Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association (UWFRA), a rescue group in the Yorkshire Dales, said the 30-hour operation involved 100 volunteers.

UWFRA team leader Derek said the alarm wa

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