THE LIFEGUARD who was on duty when a schoolboy died during a swimming lesson cannot provide documents to prove he was fully qualified, an inquest heard.

Robert McGill was working part-time as a lifeguard at Thame Leisure Centre on July 12, 2004, when 11-year-old Stokenchurch Primary School pupil Nathan Matthews was pulled unconscious from the bottom of the pool and died shortly afterwards.

At an inquest into his death at Oxford Coroners Court yesterday, Mr McGill, then 17, told the court he had completed both units one and two of the National Pool Lifeguards Qualification (NPLQ) at the time but said: "I don't remember where any forms went. They leisure centre managers told me stuff and I believed them."

The court also heard Mr McGill had retaken some parts of the unit one qualification before passing it and Nathan's family's lawyer raised questions over his attendance at ongoing training sessions which the witness was unable to confirm.

But Greg Boult, who was working as a duty manager at the centre in July 2004, told the court the centre had been "happy with Rob's confidence and competence".

Questions were also raised about whether Mr McGill and Mr Boult gave Nathan the right type of CPR, appropriate to children, in their efforts to resuscitate him.

But Robert Gilley, an ambulance technician who arrived to treat Nathan at the poolside, told the court protocol for CPR on children had since changed and their treatment had been adequate' and effective'.

The court also heard that paramedics shocked Nathan three times with a defibrillator beside the pool before taking him to John Radcliffe Hospital by ambulance.

Adrian Bidwell, group head of operations for SOLL Leisure, which manages the centre, is due to give evidence which may produce documentary evidence of Mr McGill's qualifications.

The inquest continues.