A punting trip ended in tragedy when non-swimmer David Colban fell out and drowned in the River Cherwell.

Mr Colban, 22, was knocked into the water when a second punt collided with his, 150 yards from the Cherwell Boathouse, Bardwell Road, north Oxford.

Two friends leapt into the water to save him but he panicked and they could not keep his head above water to stop him drowning. A police helicopter equipped with an infra-red detector scoured the deep water and punters scanned the river in vain.

It soon became too dark to keep searching and it was not until next morning his body was discovered downriver by divers. Mr Colban was with a group of fellow members of the Young Farmers' Club, from Princes Risborough, Bucks, who hired five punts and a rowing boat one evening last August from the boathouse. They punted to the nearby Victoria Arms pub before beginning their return journey.

Mr Colban was standing in the punt when it collided with a second craft and he and a friend, Ian Dean, were sent spinning into the water.

Mr Dean, of Wokingham, Berkshire, told Oxford Coroners' Court yesterday (WEDS): "We fell into the water together and David was struggling a lot. By then I realised he had told me he could not swim.

"I shouted out to other people that he could not swim. I was dragged into another boat away from David. Then George Dance, a friend, dived in to try and hold him. I think he had hold of him, but David was struggling so much it was impossible to keep hold of him."

In a written statement Mr Dance, of Woodway, Princes Risborough, said: "As we were going back we were splashing water at each other. Everybody was in good spirits and having a good time. "I grabbed some part of his body but his head was below the water line. We could not get his head above the water because he was panicking so much."

Mr Colban, an agricultural engineer from Berryfield Road, Princes Risborough, had drunk very little alcohol but could not swim and had probably been dragged down by his heavy boots.

Oxfordshire coroner Mr Nicholas Gardiner said: "These young people were doing normally what hundreds, perhaps thousands do every year in Oxford."

But he added: "River water does need respect. If you are not accustomed to using boats it is far better to be sitting down.

"If you are a non-swimmer and having any doubts about the matter, do wear a life-jacket."

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Ian Wright, of Oxford City Council's environmental health department, said life-jackets were available at the boathouse to those who wanted them.

But he told the court: "I got the impression that very few people ask."

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