Emergency services have rescued a teenage girl who was trapped underground for more than four hours after falling in a cave complex in Carmarthenshire.

The 15-year-old from Pembrokeshire suffered back injuries in the fall and she was carried out of the LLygad Llwchwr cave at Trapp near Llandeilo by rescuers at around 1820 BST on Tuesday.

It's a very, very narrow entrance to the cave which is making it difficult at the moment

Sergeant Charles Gabe

Laura Turner, who was taking part in a Prince's Trust trip, was airlifted to Morriston Hospital, Swansea where she is said to be in a stable condition.

She had become trapped about 30 to 40 feet underground inside a cavern with a very narrow entrance.

Efforts to rescue her were hampered by the slippery conditions following heavy rainfall in south west Wales in the last two days, and also the narrow entrance to the cave.

The Prince's Trust - which organised the trip with Pembrokeshire Education Authority - said the rest of the group had returned to Pembrokeshire.

All parents and teachers were informed of the incident on the trip, which was meant for children at risk of exclusion or underachieving in school.

It is believed six teenagers and two group leaders were on the trip.

The Prince's Trust later issued a statement which said: "We are grateful to the emergency services for their support and wish the girl involved a speedy recovery.

"As is the nature of all such incidents within the Prince's Trust it will be the subject of a routine investigation."

Police and rescuers were faced with difficult conditions in a remote area.

"It's a very, very narrow entrance to the cave which made things difficult," said Sergeant Charles Gabe from Dyfed-Powys Police, describing the conditions during the rescue operation.

A helicopter and Land Rovers joined the search

"One person can just crawl through and it's like that for about six feet."

After that, the cave widens out for about 10 feet into a cavern, where the injured girl was lying trapped.

He said the girl's companions had said she had fallen between six to 10 feet just after 1400 BST on Tuesday.

It was believed she had suffered back or neck injuries in the accident.

A consultant from Morriston Hospital in Swansea and a doctor from a mountain rescue team were with the girl at the bottom of the cave.

The air ambulance has been called to the scene, and a cave rescue team and police are also present.

Sergeant Gabe said the cavers had appeared to be correctly equipped for their expedition, and the accident had happened purely as a result of a fall.

Two of her companions had remained at the scene of the accident, while the rest of the party had left.