Father weeps as he tells how Olympic hopeful son, 14, gazed into his eyes 'as if to say help me' after freak wave swept him from boat on to spinning propeller  

• Charlie Hutton was flung on to a propeller as he was on boat trip with his father and friends
  
• Father Simon Hutton cradled him who said the teenager was 'very calm' in his last moments

By Anna Edwards

Published: 12:07 EST, 31 January 2013 | Updated: 14:00 EST, 31 January 2013

A father described how his 14-year-old boy lay dying in his arms after a 'freak wave' swept him from the family's boat onto its spinning propeller.

England under-15 hockey star Charlie Hutton was killed in a horrific motorboat accident during a seaside break with his parents and two of his closest school friends, an inquest heard today.

His devastated father Simon Hutton, 52, who was driving the boat, told how he had desperately fought to save the teen's life.

He sobbed as he described how he cradled his son - an Olympic 2020 hopeful - who had seemed 'very calm' in his last moments.

Charlie Hutton, 14, suffered horrendous injuries when he was swept on to a propeller by a freak wave

Charlie was flung from the front of the £50,000 boat as it was hit by a 'huge' wave and suffered horrendous injuries as he was struck by the propeller of the powerful 200 horsepower Mercury engine.

Mr Hutton, who was hit in the face by the five foot 'wall of water', described how he screamed out for his missing son after they were 'engulfed' by a huge wave, and suddenly his son and one of his friends had disappeared.

He spotted Charlie's friend, who had been sitting on a cushioned area at the front of the boat with Charlie, bobbing around in the water.

But his son was nowhere to be seen - until he realised he was lying wounded on the boat's propeller.

Simon Hutton wept as he described how he cradled his son after the accident

The group, who were staying at the Hutton family's second home in Mudeford, Dorset, for a few days, had headed towards the Isle of Wight before tragedy struck near the The Needles landmark shortly before 5pm.

After a day at the family beach hut in Mudeford, they planned to make the short voyage to Yarmouth for dinner and return in the early evening.

Mr Hutton, who has a Royal Yachting Association motorboat certificate, told the inquest how he frantically tried to resuscitate his son after hauling him back into the boat.

Graphic designer Mr Hutton, who bought the Cobra 6.6 rigid inflatable boat in 2010, said: 'I remember screaming out: "Where's Charlie, Where's Charlie?"

'I could not hear anything or anyone. My mind was blocked and I was set on finding Charlie.

'I saw what I thought was engine oil in the water and realised it could be blood and I went to the back of the boat. Charlie was there on the propeller.

'His eyes were fixed on me and they were just saying "Help me".'

He had to rip the boy's shredded trousers from the blades of the propeller to free him while Charlie's other school friend, also 14, dialled 999.

Mr Hutton, from south Croydon, Surrey, added: 'I cradled Charlie in my arms and rested him across the three seats.

'His eyes were open and he was looking at me as water kept splashing over the side of the boat.

'His trousers were torn, as was his flesh.

'He was conscious and breathing and his eyes were fixed on me.

'I told him that I loved him, that we all loved him. It seemed ages before the helicopter arrived but I know it was not.

'Charlie's eyes were starting to roll and his eyes were glazed.

The Olympic 2020 hopeful died of multiple injuries, including wounds to his pelvis and left leg

'I pushed down on his heart a few times but the pulse where my hands were was getting slower.

'By the time the coastguard crew arrived he had stopped breathing.

'The lead paramedic told me to do 30 compressions and two breaths, which I did.

'Within minutes he and Charlie were winched off the boat.

'At one point I remember the pulse in his leg had slowed and I think he died at this moment.'

Mr Hutton and Charlie's two school friends waited for an RNLI lifeboat to come for the other injured boy, who had fractured his fibia and broken his toe.

Mr Hutton, who has two older sons with wife Gill, then lit a flare so the lifeboat could find them easily.

Recalling the moment the wave struck, Mr Hutton added he could not work out how Charlie landed on propeller.

Charlie, who attended the £14,424 a year Whitgift school in South Croydon, was declared dead at 5.35pm in A and E at Southampton General Hospital, the inquest in Newport, Isle of Wight heard.

A post mortem revealed he died of multiple injuries, including to his pelvis and left leg.

The previously fit and healthy teen also suffered wounds to his groin and extensive blood loss from the main artery to his leg, the inquest heard.

Mr Hutton, who has been sailing since he was 12, was wearing a kill cord to cut the engine at the time of the incident.

He said he thought it was safe to let the boys sit at the front of the boat, where it was 'bouncy and fun', the inquest heard.

All four occupants of the boat were wearing buoyancy aids or life jackets and the boys knew to hold onto the boats ropes, Mr Hutton said.

Mr Hutton said he remembered thinking the boat was coping well in the 'fairly choppy' waters and had slowed down from about 25 - 30 knots.

Charlie's friend, now 15, recalled how the pals had spent the day at the Hutton's beach hut in Mudeford, before setting out and said Mr Hutton had been sailing sensibly.

The other boy, from Reigate, Surrey, said he was 'flung back' against his seat as the wave hit.

He then helped Mr Hutton pull Charlie back into the boat.

Isle of Wight Coroner Caroline Sumeray recorded a verdict of accidental death and praised Charlie's friends for their 'great maturity and courage'.

She said she had looked into the issue of propeller guards to boost safety on boats but that any recommendation she made would be 'meaningless'.

Instead she called for publicity and information to make the public aware that they are available.

'That would be a fitting legacy for Charlie', she said.

Charlie played for the England under-15 team and had ambitions of playing for Britain at the 2020 Olympic Games.