THE unveiling of a memorial sculpture to tragic caving victim Joe Lister could not have been more poignant.

The Tadcaster Grammar School pupil's 13-year-old sister Laura sang a song written specially in Joe's memory by his friend Ben Richards.

It is now more than eight months since Joe, aged 14, lost his life in a caving accident in Upper Nidderdale. His death carried awful echoes of the deaths of Leeds teenagers Hannah Black, 13, and Rochelle Cauvet, 14, who died in 2000 after losing their footing and being washed down Stainforth Beck, near Settle, also while on a school trip. It is inevitable, following such tragedies, that questions will be asked. So they should be.

But for many youngsters, especially those from poorer families, trips like this offer a chance to visit places and have experiences they may otherwise never get. For children to miss out would be another tragedy.