A memorial has been unveiled for a teenager who drowned during flooding last summer.

Max Weeden, 17, of Judds Close, Witney, died after getting trapped in five feet of flood water in a culvert, off Eastfield Road, in June.

Kate, 40, and Tim Weeden, 41, thanked friends and family for donations after unveiling a memorial bench at Langdale Common, off Church Lane, Witney, on Saturday.

They said the bench would help people remember the fun-loving teenager.

The couple also praised Conservative leader, and Witney MP, David Cameron who helped get the bench installed.

Mrs Weeden said: “Max and I walked down here all the time together. We even cycled and went roller-blading here.

“This is a special place. It was quite hard for a good few months. I couldn’t walk down here without him and would avoid it.

“But now we have the bench I’ll be down here all the time. We want to thank everyone who donated and for all their support.”

Funds were raised for the bench from donations at the teenager’s funeral last year.

The bench was installed on Friday and about 30 friends and family made their first visit to the memorial the following day.

It is decorated with Max’s name and a Japanese sign for ‘Son’.

An inscription on the plaque says: “Max loved life, fun, friends and family, his gadgets, technology, music, his bike and joking around.

“For Max, who said ‘life was for living and to have fun..,’ and so he did.”

The former Oxford Mail paperboy was a fan of Japanese art and was saving up his wages at Sainsbury’s to travel to the country.

Mrs Weeden said: “He was mad about technology and always had to have the latest gadget.

“He loved Japan and anime (Japanese cartoon art). He was a very good artist too.

“One of the last things he did was buy me an XBox, you should have seen my face. He was so funny he made me laugh all the time.”

The family had hoped to get the bench set up before Christmas, but there were lengthy talks with Witney Town Council about the location and style of bench.

However, Mr Cameron stepped in to help the family get the memorial they wanted.

Mrs Weeden said: “He sent us a lovely letter after it happened. He said if we ever needed any help to contact him. We were fighting to get this nice bench, so I thought I would give him a ring and that made it possible.”

The teenager was killed when he was playing with other youngsters in flood water last June.

A month’s worth of rain fell in a day causing water to pour down a hill behind Eastfield Road. The Environment Agency is working on a report into the incident.