A coroner has criticised "a conspiracy" at an Oxford University rowing club that withheld information following the death of student rower Leo Blockley.

South Manchester coroner John Pollard said senior members of the Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club had failed to tell investigators the full story after a training trip on which the 21-year-old student drowned.

Mr Pollard also criticised the head coach at the rowing club who, the inquest heard, had been hungover on the morning of the tragedy.

Mr Blockley, from Ashton-under- Lyne, was swept away by strong currents on the River Ebro, near Barcelona, in December 2000, after his boat was swamped by waves. The first inquest blamed freak weather conditions and recorded a verdict of accidental death.

But the High Court was asked to quash that verdict after Mr Blockley's parents uncovered new information about what happened and reported it to the coroner.

Recording a narrative verdict -- given in cases when a coroner is unsure what caused a death -- Mr Pollard said members of the club regarded preserving its reputation as more important than uncovering the truth and that investigator Richard Hartley was "kept in the dark".

Mr Pollard said the OULRC had not wanted the university to find out that its head coach, Leila Hudson, had been "suffering the effects of alcohol" at the time of the death.

Speaking outside the inquest at Stockport Coroners' Court, Mr Blockley's mother Dr Jane Blockley, attacked the Amateur Rowing Association and the university for blaming Leo in the aftermath of the accident. She added that her and husband Stephen were "pleased that this inquest has completely removed this slur upon Leo's name".

A university spokesman said: "We hope that the narrative verdict of accidental death will bring to an end any outstanding doubts or concerns of the family, or others involved in the tragedy, that the causes may not have been fully explored or understood."