AN Olympic standard kayaking champion was found drowned in just two feet of water at a North Devon beach, an inquest has heard.

Andrew Maycock, 40, from Bristol, drowned on August 1 last year while training with his friend, Mark Ressel, in "challenging conditions" at Barricane Beach near Woolacombe.

The men were using ocean-racing skis — two-foot long fibre-glass skis in which the person sits and paddles — when the accident happened, the inquest was told.

Described by Mr Ressel as an "accomplished sportsman", Mr Maycock, a father-of-two, had previously trained for the Olympic squad for Barcelona 2004 in flat-water kayaking.

He had also competed on the international kayaking stage with his brother, Peter, who is from Burlescombe near Cullompton in Mid Devon.

Mr Ressel, 39, from Woolacombe, told the inquest: "Andy was an Olympic standard kayaker in his time. Although he was better in open water than in surf I had no reason to suspect he was not capable.

"We knew the conditions were challenging, but he said: Come on, let's go for it."

Mr Ressel, who is also a trained lifeguard and member of the Saunton Sands Lifesaving Club, said he checked over his shoulder as the pair confronted their first wave of the day to "check Andy was ok".

"I thought: Good on you for holding up, even though he didn't catch the wave quite right," he told the inquest.

"But as I approached the shore — no longer than a minute-and-a-half later — I could not see him any more."

Mr Ressel then saw Mr Maycock's skis on the beach and spotted his friend 15 metres away face down in water two-and-a-half feet deep.

"I ran through the water to get him but could not find a pulse. He wasn't breathing," he said.

A dozen surfers joined attempts to resuscitate Mr Maycock before the emergency services arrived.

He was airlifted to North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple by a search and rescue crew from RAF Chivenor but he was pronounced dead on arrival.

In a written statement, Dr Andrew Bull, consultant pathologist at North Devon District Hospital, confirmed there was no evidence of injury on Mr Maycock's body.

He also said a heart attack, which had been previously suspected, was unlikely to have been the cause of death.

"The heart muscles were larger than usual and there was dilation of the veins," Dr Bull wrote.

"But it is difficult to determine whether this enlarged heart was owing to his very athletic body or a heart condition before he died."

He said it was "very normal" for a sportsman to have enlarged heart muscles and the more likely cause of death was drowning.

Mr Maycock, who worked as an engineer at British Aerospace, had an 11-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, and a 13-year-old son, Thomas. He was divorced.

The coroner, Dr Elizabeth Earland, recorded a verdict of accidental death at the inquest in Barnstaple.