Potholers have discovered the UK's biggest known cave - which is almost as high from floor to ceiling as the London Eye - after following clues left by a Cambridge student in the 18th century.

The cave in Derbyshire's Peak District, known as Titan, is estimated to be a massive 459ft (140m) from floor to ceiling, beating the previous record holder, Gaping Gyhll in the Yorkshire Dales, by almost 200ft (60m).

It was discovered by Dave Nixon and a group of Peak cavers near another huge cavern, Leviathan, after he found an old account in a university library.

The paper, written in 1793 by James Plumtree, described a network of caves which went beyond the well-known Speedwell cave system near Castleton.

Plumtree's account took him down the Speedwell Canal and deep into a nearby lead mine, but his journal described a cave system that went far beyond what had since been explored

Mr Nixon, a leading underground explorer, realised the entrance must have been blocked by a rockfall and after removing the rocks, eventually discovered a long system of caves leading them to Titan.

The team of cavers then spent a further three years removing another fall of boulders before finally gaining entry to the bottom of the cavern.

Mr Nixon told the BBC: "It wasn't a matter of stumbling, it was a lot of research and a lot of hard work."

His team have now completed a man-made shaft which allows cavers to abseil down in to the cave, saving them a challenging five-hour underground journey.

The cave was carved out over millions of years by water eroding limestone, and contains a massive waterfall which plunges deep below ground level.

Until now, Titan has only been within reach of the relatively small number of expert cavers who knew of its existence. Tonight the first film of the huge cavern will be shown on Inside Out at 7.30pm on BBC1.

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