A TWO-year-old boy drowned in the Oxford Canal while playing with his sister, an inquest heard.

Bianca Slevin and Damon Palmer sobbed as coroner Nicholas Gardiner read out a verdict of accidental death at the inquest of Alfred Palmer today.

The toddler drowned after falling in the canal, in Banbury, while digging for worms on the towpath with his eight-year-old step-sister Jaylei-Rose.

The accident happened on Sunday, March 30, while the family were living on a house boat on the canal.

It is unclear how Alfie fell into the water but 27-year-old Miss Slevin said that she looked away for a "second" from where the children were playing and when she looked back, Alfie had gone.

Miss Slevin, a chef, said that she thought her son was hiding and so searched the boat and around the towpath. But when Jaylei-Rose pointed out Alfie's boots in the canal, Mr Palmer jumped into the water and pulled out his unconscious son.

The toddler was airlifted to the John Radcliffe Hospital, but pronounced dead on arrival.

His parents are calling for a barrier to be put along the towpath to prevent further tragedies.

Miss Slevin said: "People can slip quite easily and sometimes the path is very narrow.

"There needs to be something along the edge to make people more aware and to stop people slipping right in."

Mr Palmer, 24, who works as an assistant manager at a restaurant, said about Alfie: "I just miss him. There are so many things I would've liked to have taught him and done with him, I just wish he was still here so that I could see him grow into the man he could've been."

Miss Slevin said: "He was cheeky, mischievous, really really happy. He was a ray of sunshine completely.

"He was a real nature boy, an outdoor boy, that's what he loved the most.

"He loved to go fishing, hunting for insects, anything naturey. Being outdoors, that's when he was happy."

The family have now moved to Bideford, Devon, to make a fresh start.