AN OUTDOOR instructor drowned after his canoe capsized as he helped a pair of stranded students, an inquest heard.

Grant Kinnie was one of five Patterdale Hall Outdoor Education Centre instructors mentoring 11 youngsters from Bolton School on the River Eamont at Ullswater on September 11 last year.

The group originally intended to go sailing but changed their plans at the last minute when the weather turned windy.

Mr Kinnie, 25, of Darlington, was travelling with a student in his canoe while supervising two boys who were in another.

The inquest was told that when the boys got into difficulty while crossing the river to reach a quiet patch of water, known as an ‘eddy’, Mr Kinnie went to their aid.

In evidence at Kendal County Hall, fellow instructor Andrew Stark said Mr Kinnie manoeuvred his canoe into a position where the youngsters could be helped.

But as he did, his boat struck a submerged tree in the water near Stainton Island, capsizing him.

The youngsters in the canoe which Mr Kinnie was trying to help also flipped over with both boys pulled from the river and onto the island.

But the tree had trapped the back of Mr Kinnie’s boat, with the force of the river flow holding him in place under the water.

Miroslav Makrilis, another instructor who was close by, told the hearing: “The canoe he was shepherding couldn’t quite manage to hit the area they were aiming for. Grant was trying to instruct them to make it. I can only speculate that he didn’t notice the tree.”

Instructor Callum Finley entered the water and managed to free the 14-year-old schoolboy and get him breathing again.

He said: “I went back into the water to try and free Grant. We tried every way possible.”

Another colleague, Simon Waterworth, told the inquest how, with others, he tried in vain to free Mr Kinnie who remained trapped.

“We worked out that there was still somebody in the water and then we tried to push and pull the canoe to get him out,” he explained.

The inquest heard that by the time Mr Kinnie had been airlifted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, he had been under water for up to 20 minutes.

A post-mortem examination revealed he died from the effects of ‘prolonged submersion in water’.

A jury of 11 returned a verdict of accidental death.

South and East Cumbria Coroner, Ian Smith said: “Mr Kinnie was going about his normal daily job, which I’m sure he enjoyed throughly, never expecting to get into this trouble.

“But he paid for it with his life trying to help the young people under his charge.”

Mr Smith also praised Mr Finley for saving the life of the schoolboy.

He said: “Clearly, there was a severe problem with this young man, who was revived. But for Callum, that young man would also have been the subject of this inquest.”