Boy drowned after trapping foot

Fire crews said Max was submerged for about 20 minutes

A teenager drowned after getting his foot stuck in a storm drain in floods, an inquest has heard.

Max Sullivan-Webb, had been wading through water in Oxfordshire when torrents pinned him against a grille.

The 17-year-old, also known as Max Weeden, had been with two friends in fields near his home in Witney, in June 2008, when the accident happened.

His friend Daniel Martin was commended for his "heroic efforts" after jumping into water trying to save him.

The force of the water against the culvert was so strong that it took four firefighters to eventually free him, Oxford Coroner's Court heard.

Max, who had Asperger's Syndrome, was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where he died later that night.

'Messing around'

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Coroner Nicholas Gardiner said that "generations" of children would have played in floodwater in the field over the years.

He said: "Young men do silly things from time to time. Maybe you might call it silly, you might call it part of growing up.

"It's not my position to allocate blame, and in truth I don't think there was any. This was a horrible accident."

He said that Daniel, also 17, had made "heroic efforts."

It was absolutely incredible what he did in trying to hold on to his friend until we arrived Steve Harrison, Witney Fire and Rescue

Steve Harrison, of Witney Fire and Rescue, said the teenager could not have done any more to help his friend.

He said: "It was absolutely incredible what he did in trying to hold on to his friend until we arrived."

Daniel said the friends were "messing around" in the floodwater that evening after Max suggested walking to the field behind Eastfield Road.

But the water soon reached their waists.

Daniel, who was with 12-year-old friend Connor Lawler at the time, said: "We got out because it got too deep and cold, and Max just carried on. He just walked on.

"He sort of got his foot stuck, I think."

He told the coroner he had not realised there was a pipe under the water, and that Max had been inadvertently walking towards the drain.

A post-mortem examination confirmed that Max, described as being a good swimmer, had drowned.

Patricia Weeden, the mother of Max's stepfather Tim, spoke on behalf of the family outside court, and also praised Daniel's efforts.

She said: "That lad stood in the water. Max might not have been aware, but he wasn't on his own.

"Max was such a great lad, he was very, very adventurous. He was just a lovely lad. We just don't want this to happen again."