An Easter Holiday expedition took a tragic turn when one of four friends went over a weir in the River Croal, an inquest has heard.

Joseph Holt, or Joe, from Little Lever, died on April 10 of this year, the day after the incident close to Raikes Lane Industrial Estate.

The weather was not bad on the day but it was bad in the days before and the water was fast-flowing and at a high level.

Mr Holt, a first-year at Bolton College, and his friends were in two identical, inflatable kayaks which they were looking to take as far as Salford after looking at a route on Snapchat.

At Bolton Coroner's Court this week one of the boys, Boy A, told the assistant coroner Michael Pemberton he and the other two boys were already in the water as a result of the challenging conditions when Mr Holt went over a weir in the River Croal which he told Mr Pemberton was like a "waterfall".

Mr Pemberton said: "You were shouting to Joe to jump but he did not. You were shouting to Joe to jump but it was like he was frozen. I imagine it is going round and round in your head since it happened."

Boy A was not able to get to Mr Holt and it was around 20 minutes until any of the emergency services were able to get to Mr Holt.

He was taken to hospital in a critical condition but he died the day after the incident with the cause of death described as a drowning.

Detective Inspector Stuart Woodhead, of GMP Bolton, said: "If [Boy A] got into where Joe was there would be two inquests. It would be lucky for a professional swimmer to get out of where Joe was."

Parents Andrew Holt and Suzanna Holt were at the coroner's court where the assistant coroner came to a conclusion of misadventure.

Mr Pemberton read a statement with a touching tribute from Mr Holt and Mrs Holt saying their son was "the best son" and "a blessing".

Mr Pemberton said: "An expedition to explore a river with friends cost the life of a promising young man who was the world to his family.

"You are in my thoughts after today."

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.