FRIENDS and the emergency services made “heroic” efforts to try to save an Oxford teenager on the night he drowned, a coroner said yesterday.

An inquest at Oxford Coroner’s Court heard how 12-year-old Riyadh Dewan tried to grab his friend Aown Dogar as he was carried past him on the river near Donnington Bridge, but missed by inches.

Paramedics spent more than an hour trying to revive the 13-year-old, whose father said yesterday was a “shining example” any parent would be proud of. The inquest heard how Aown, a pupil at Cheney School in Oxford, went to Riyadh’s house in Fox Crescent, off Weirs Lane, to play after school on Thursday, June 25.

The garden backs on to a large stream which connects to the Thames at both ends. Aown’s family lives two doors down, and he went with his younger brother Naofil and big sister Noor to play on the water at the bottom of Riyadh’s garden.

Assistant coroner Alison Thompson told the hearing how they first played on a boat until it sprang a leak, then went swimming in the late afternoon sun.

In a statement, Riyadh said: “We were playing piggy in the middle with an armband. There were no problems, then all of a sudden Aown was waving his arms in the air above the water.

“To start with I thought he was playing around. He should have been able to stand up in the river, then he started drifting towards me.”

Aown’s sister, who was stood on the bank filming the boys on her mobile phone, started screaming in panic.

Police later watched that footage to try to work out exactly what happened.

Riyadh said: “Aown’s head was going up and down, his hair was soaking. I tried to reach out to grab him as he floated past but I missed his hand by a few inches and he carried on floating past the bridge.

“I threw the armband but he couldn’t grab it.”

Riyadh said a neighbour who lived on a houseboat dived into the river to try to grab Aown, but couldn’t battle the current.

Someone called 999 at about 7.15pm and police, paramedics and the fire service soon arrived. A fireman using a pole from Donnington Bridge eventually managed to recover Aown’s body shortly before 8pm.

Paramedics immediately put him in an ambulance and tried to resuscitate him using CPR and adrenaline while travelling to the John Radcliffe Hospital.

They attempted resuscitation for more than an hour before doctors pronounced death at 9.05pm.

Miss Thompson said: “I am satisfied from all the evidence I have heard that heroic attempts were made to resuscitate him.

“Youngsters who appear to have drowned can have a good outcome so the advice is given to continue resuscitation and that’s exactly what they did.”

She concluded the inquest by saying it was a “tragic” accidental death.

Aown’s father, Mohammad, chose not to attend the inquest, but he told the Oxford Mail yesterday that his son was an “excellent example of a youngster”.

Mr Dogar, retired, said: “I couldn’t believe how many people were his friends and how many people he touched.

“You can be sure, any parent, friend, relative or neighbour would be proud to know him.

“He was a shining example of good things.”

While he went to St Ebbe’s Primary School, Aown developed a love of cricket and football, which he passed on to his brother Naofil.

Naofil just started at Cheney School this week.

Mr Dogar said: “If Aown were here, Naofil wouldn’t be walking to school, Aown would be carrying him on his shoulders.”