Canoe death boy 'did not drown'

Goalkeeper Stewart McEwan signed for Reading FC in the summer

Police investigating the death of a schoolboy footballer while he was canoeing say tests have shown he did not drown.

Stewart McEwan, 13, from Earley near Reading in Berkshire, died on the River Usk near Brecon in Powys on Saturday.

The teenager, who had been signed by Championship club Reading, was on an educational trip with fellow pupils.

Dyfed-Powys Police are still treating his death as unexplained following a post-mortem examination.

A Home Office pathologist carried out the examination at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, this week.

Specialist staff from the education department will also be present to speak with each child if needed Peter Thomas, Stewart's head teacher

Powys coroner Peter Maddox will open and adjourn an inquest into Stewart's death on Thursday.

Police are sending child witness interview officers to Reading to speak to children who were on the river with Stewart when the tragedy happened.

Peter Thomas, head teacher of Stewart's school, Maiden Erlegh, said: "The deputy head teacher Mary Davies will be supporting children and parents when they speak with the police.

Police taped off an area of the riverbank about a mile east of Brecon

"Specialist staff from the education department will also be present to speak with each child if needed," added the head teacher.

Stewart was signed to Reading FC's academy in August and the club say they are devastated by his death.

Reading will hold a minute's applause before their game against Southampton on Saturday, and players will wear black armbands.

The boy's parents have also spoken of their loss.

"He was a boy who grabbed life. He loved his sport and there wasn't anything he didn't enjoy," his family said in a statement released through police.