A LANCASTER teacher is hoping to take his favourite hobby of potholing to the people of China.

Richard Gerrish, a Carnforth High School science teacher, was part of a four-person expedition, which has spent the last two months in the Yunnan province.

China has more natural limestone than the rest of the world put together, but there is no

history of potholing in the country.

The expedition was gathering scientific data on a previously unexplored area.

The hope was of finding some of the world's deepest caves, more than 2,500 metres deep.

"The expedition was very successful," said Richard: "We found one area that looked like it had 2,000 to 2,100-metre caves."

Richard, along with Hilary Greaves, Gavin Lowe and Paul Swire, took part in the expedition as part of the Hong Meigui organisation.

Richard's love of caving started when he was 16, when he began potholing in the Yorkshire Dales with his father.

Since then, potholing has taken him as far as South Africa and Mexico.

However, because China was closed to the West until recent years, he is now examining previously-unexplored territory.

"We surveyed all the caves we visited," added Richard: "And the information we gathered will be kept on record.

"However, the main reason I do it is the sense of adventure and excitement.

"The Chinese see caving as a slightly eccentric western thing," explained Richard: "Our contact in China is a keen caver, but one problem is the cost of equipment.

Finding someone to introduce them to the sport is also difficult.

"However, next time we go I'm hoping to take some basic equipment and spend part of the expedition teaching the local people

potholing."