Accidental Death verdict recorded

Cameron Sandell, from Hunton near Maidstone, was 14 when he died in April last year. At the inquest today, his parents paid tribute: "He was just a happy, funny, friendly teenager. He was a good kid. A good kid yeah, he was."

This is where the tragedy unfolded - Teston lock. The inquest heard that Cameron was an enthusiastic canoeist who'd passed a Grade 2 competence test at the age of 13.

But he wanted to try a new canoe, a short, stubby one called a Playboat in which you can do tricks and stunts. So, with his father's blessing, he went to hire one for the weekend.

A friend, Liam Hannigan, also hired a canoe. The pair went down to the river at Teston where there's a lock, a sluice and a weir and they paddled into the sluice because the water was foaming, the current was strong and it was more of a challenge for them.

But the water coming over the sluice tipped up the front end of Cameron's canoe. He was flipped over and dragged down under the water, rolled about in the current and brought back up to the surface, again and again. Liam tried to help but was powerless to do so.

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death and said she was concerned about a lack of warning signs at the lock. Cameron's parents say they don't blame anyone for the tragedy and doubt it could have been avoided:

"Young boys that see adventure in the river, I don't think they take any notice of signs as such. This was just a tragic accident and nobody meant it to happen. He was just out having a ... he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time ... good time with a friend and it went wrong."

But they're left wishing the boys hadn't been able to get into the sluice in the first place; the Environment Agency says it's considering how best to safeguard that side of the lock.

Cameron's father is now to undertake a charity walk in memory of his son, who'd wanted to join the army - he'll raise funds for Help for Heroes. You can donate at www.bmycharity.com/susansandell