Two boys tried in vain to save the life of a 10-year-old girl who accidentally hanged herself with a dressing gown cord.

Natasha Holmes-Smith

Tyrone Holmes-Smith, 15, and Craig White, 17, were praised at an inquest on Tyrone's sister, Natasha who died in her bedroom at her home in Leach Road, Bicester, on November 17 last year.

Dc Andrew Rymer, who led the investigation into Natasha's death, said: "Tyrone and Craig acted responsibly and correctly."

Oxfordshire coroner Nicholas Gardiner told them: "I admire the way in which you reacted to the accident."

The two boys were in Tyrone's room when Natasha's sister Tilly, nine, who shared a bedroom with her, rushed in. Tyrone said: "Tilly said Natasha had something round her neck. I got Craig to hold her up so I could get her down."

Craig, of Blenheim Drive, Bicester, phoned for an ambulance and relayed instructions from control staff to Tyrone who tried to revive his sister before the ambulance arrived.

Her mother Janice Clarke, 35, said: "Natasha was a normal, happy girl, who enjoyed school and reading."

She said that her daughter enjoyed reading newspapers and had asked her mother twice, months before her death, about stories she had read where people had died from hanging.

Ms Clarke said she was just curious and wanted to know how the people had died. She never expressed any suicidal tendencies.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, Mr Gardiner said: "I find it credible that Natasha tried to experiment to see how it (hanging) could work but without wanting to harm herself. The tragedy of course is that she overdid it."

After the inquest, Ms Clarke said: "We can now get on with our lives."

Natasha's father, Carlton Keeys, 39, of Heron Drive, Bicester, said he often found presents from Natasha's classmates at her graveside.