A 17-year-old boy died after becoming trapped in a culvert during flash floods in Oxfordshire, police said today.
Max Sullivan-Webb was playing with friends in a field in Witney when he became stuck in a metal grate covering a concrete culvert on yesterday evening.
Despite attempts by fire crews to rescue him in neck-high waters, the teenager was later pronounced dead at the local John Radcliffe hospital.
"Max was just like any other teenager: he loved music, computer games and riding his BMX with his mates," his family said in a statement. "But in other ways he was a real individual and didn't follow the crowd. He was kind, gentle and very laid back; he never took life too seriously and was always laughing and joking. We will have so many fond memories of him."
Nearly a month's rain fell in Oxfordshire on yesterday, resulting in fire crews responding to about 120 calls linked to flash flooding.
A row of homes in the Tiddington area were affected by flood water.
Peter Cleary, from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, told the BBC how his team had tried to save the teenager trapped in the culvert.
"A culvert is like a concrete tunnel, which has some bars to stop weeds and debris from going any further, and it looks as if he was restricted at that point (by the bars).
"Our fire crews from Witney were in up to their necks in water. We wear buoyancy aids and jackets and we were doing all we could to try and save this lad."