A teenager who drowned before he could fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor raised £1,250 for a cancer charity just four days before he died.

Cherwell School pupil Hassan Hussain, 15, drowned in the River Cherwell at University Parks on June 28 while out with friends.

Yesterday his father Bashir spoke of the family's pride in Hassan who raised the money for the Anthony Nolan Trust by competing in a 35km bike ride.

Hassan and his father began collecting the sponsorship money as soon as the ride was completed, but Mr Hussain has only just received all the funds.

The £1,250 total is a mixture of money donated by schoolfriends, family and fellow members of the Kuman Mathematics Club where Hassan had been a member.

Mr Hussain, of Jack Straw's Lane, in Marston, said: "It has been a helpful process, but a hard one too. Knowing that the bike ride was the last major thing he did before the accident makes things slightly easier in some ways and makes you feel even more proud. He had never done anything like this before, but he just decided to give it a go. I hope the charity continues to do the event on an annual basis."

The Anthony Nolan Trust is responsible for finding suitable unrelated donors for patients who require bone marrow transplants. Fewer than 30 per cent of patients who need bone marrow transplants are able to find a compatible donor within their own families. The rest rely on the generosity of strangers who have volunteered to donate bone marrow to anyone in need.

Hassan was a keen scientist and his ambition was to become a medical doctor. Mr Hussain said his son would have been delighted to see how much had been raised.

He said: "If he could look down on us he would think that giving this amount of money to the Anthony Nolan Trust was wonderful. He was really into science and loved anything to do with saving human life."

Anthony Nolan Trust spokesman Anna Spencer said: "In Hassan's memory, his father, Bashir and his family have continued to raise funds for the charity and collect his sponsorship.

"The money that they have raised will greatly help our life-saving work and we are very grateful.

"The average sponsorship was around £30 per person, so the contribution is truly amazing."