A grieving father has told of his heartbreak after his teenage boatman son fell into the Thames and died.

Ben Woollacott came from five generations of boatmen and was the son of Surbiton-based Stephen Woollacott, boss of sightseeing tour company Cruise London.

He was in the last year of his apprenticeship when he fell from Woolwich Ferry after trying to untie mooring ropes and was hit by propellers.

The 19-year-old had got engaged to Jade Humphreys, 18, from Putney, just three days earlier.

His father Mr Woollacott, 49, said: “Ben used to come out on the boats with his brother Michael when they were both very young and help out on the cruises.

“He was a complete natural with very good boat hands.

“It is in the blood. For generations the family have been out on the river.”

Ben left Wilderness School in Sevenoaks, Kent, aged 16, to follow his family on to the Thames, a career he had been primed for his whole life.

Mr Woollacott hoped his son might one day move into the family business but also believed he would have made a good ferry captain.

“He had a choice. It would have been great if he came and worked with me on the Cruise London ferry but equally he could have gone up the ranks on the Woolwich.

“He had it all in front of him.”

There are plans to name the Waterman’s apprenticeship sculling race, taking place in Cambridge this September, in memory of Ben, with the possibility of a memorial plaque on the Woolwich ferry as well.

Mr Woollacott said: “Ben has grown up with the sons of the people I have been working with since I was 16.

“The river community is like a family which is why so many people came out to pay their respects to Ben.”

The family are originally from south-east London and father and son would often enjoy a few beers around Bermondsey before watching Millwall play.

He would also visit his dad in Surbiton at the weekend with Miss Humphreys to enjoy a couple of drinks in the local pub or to get his hair cut at his favourite barbers.

Retired Jim Radford, 79, who lives next door to Mr Woollacott’s father Stephen, 49, in Hook Road, Surbiton, said: “He was a very nice clean cut lad. There was nothing at all yobbish about him.

“If you had a daughter he is the sort of boy you would want her to marry.”

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch is leading an inquiry into Ben’s death.