Solihull: Six-year-old boy becomes fourth child to die after falling into icy lake

A six-year-old boy has become the fourth child to die after falling into an icy lake in Solihull on Sunday, West Midlands Police have said.

The boy was rushed to hospital in a critical condition following the incident at Babbs Mill Lake and was fighting for his life.

However he has since died, police today confirmed.

The deaths of three other boys, aged eight, 10 and 11, were announced on Monday.

Friends say the four children were playing on the icy lake when one of the boys’ legs fell through.

As the three others attempted to help him they all fell into the water, according to one friend.

The four children were all in cardiac arrest when rescue teams pulled them out and emergency services rushed them to hospital.

West Midlands Police said: “Our deepest sympathies are with the families and friends of those involved in this tragedy.

“We cannot comprehend the enormity of the pain they must feel and our hearts go out to them.

“Specialist officers remain in contact with the family and we will issue further information as soon as we can.

“The searches have been completed and the scene of the incident at the lake will be lifted this evening.”

Premier League stars pay tribute

It comes as Aston Villa stars Tyrone Mings and John McGinn paid their respects on Wednesday to the victims.

The Premier League footballers visited the makeshift memorial to the four boys, set up near to the scene of the incident.

Speaking to Sky News at the memorial, Mings said he and McGinn had made a “personal decision” to pay their respects.

Mings said: “I think it has impacted the whole city and we thought it was important to come down on a personal level, just to show that we were supporting.

“Sometimes, as we have seen with other things that have happened across the city, there are things more important than football.

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“We thought it was important to come down, show our respects, and show we are thinking about everything that has happened.

“There will be lots of supporters who will have been impacted by what has happened, and we feel that pain too.”

Villa captain McGinn added: “Solihull has been my home for the past five years.

“It was certainly moving for us and we saw John Eustace (Birmingham City’s manager) come down yesterday and myself and Tyrone thought it would be great for us to pay our respects.

“I’m sure in tomorrow’s friendly against Villarreal, the Villa family will come together and pay our respects to what is a tragic event so close to home.”

Mings and McGinn spent a few moments in silence looking at the hundreds of tributes, cards, bouquets, children’s toys and balloons which have been laid at the foot of a tree next to Babbs Mill Park.

Yesterday, tearful police officers laid flowers at the scene, while Eustace laid a wreath on behalf of Birmingham City FC.

Death of the boys is ‘so sad’

One of the boys who died has been named as 10-year-old Jack Johnson. On Tuesday, a schoolmate of Jack who had come to pay tribute described his upset at the loss of his friend.

He said: “Jack he used to be my friend and we used to get on a lot. As soon as I found out about the news I was really sad, like really sad.”

Another friend of one of the boys who died today told Sky News how the events unfolded.

Tommy Barnet, 10, said: “They were all playing on the ice, one got their legs stuck in the ice and then… his friends went to go and save him, but they all fell in.

“When it was summer, we used to go in the woods and play hide and seek next to the lake. But I wasn’t here (on Sunday).”

“It’s so sad, I am upset,” Tommy said, as he described how the community was waiting to hear the names of the other boys involved.

“They want them [the police] to reveal more information about it just to make sure who it is.”