Frozen lake deaths: South Yorkshire firefighters called to children playing on ice day after Solihull tragedy

Three boys, aged eight, 10 and 11, died after falling through ice into a lake near Solihull in the West Midlands yesterday, Sunday, December 11. A fourth boy, aged six, this afternoon remained in a critical condition after being pulled from the freezing water.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue today said it had been called to an incident this afternoon involving young people playing on a frozen lake, and urged people to heed the safety warnings and keep off the ice. The fire service said: “Please speak to the youngsters in your life about the dangers of doing this - as we’ve seen in the #SolihullLakeTragedy the consequences can be tragic.”

West Midlands Police today revealed one of its officers had tried to punch through the ice to rescue the children from the lake in Solihull and was taken to hospital with mild hypothermia as a result.

West Midlands Fire Service area commander Richard Stanton described the boys’ deaths as a ‘stark reminder to us all of the dangers of open water, especially during the winter months’. He added: “Frozen lakes, ponds, canals and reservoirs can look picturesque but they can be lethal and there are no greater warnings of this than yesterday’s tragic events. We would ask parents and carers to remind their children of the dangers of ice and why they must keep off it. Please help us to avoid this from happening again.”