Three boys have died after being pulled from an icy lake on Sunday.

The boys, aged 11, 10 and eight, had fallen into a lake in Babbs Mill Park in Kinghuhrst, a nature park in Solihull, West Midlands Police said.

Emergency services were called to the lake on Sunday afternoon with reports that children, who had been playing on the ice, had fallen through and into a lake.

Police, fire and ambulance chiefs told a press conference on Sunday that four children had been rescued from the water in cardiac arrest and taken to hospital in critical condition.

A search is ongoing amid fears up to six people may have been on the water.

The Northern Echo:

A West Midlands Police statement said: “Three boys have tragically died after falling into the lake at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull yesterday afternoon.

“The boys, aged 11, 10 and eight, were rushed to hospital after being pulled from the water.

“Sadly, they could not be revived and our thoughts are with their family and friends at this deeply devastating time. We’ll have specialist officers offering them as much support as we can.

“A fourth boy, aged six, remains in a critical condition in hospital.

“We’ve been working alongside colleagues from the fire and ambulance services as we do all we can to support those involved.

“Searches of the lake are continuing as we seek to establish exactly what happened and if anyone else fell into the water.

“We understand how distressing this is for the families and the wider community.

“We would ask people to not speculate or share any video footage at this stage.”

It comes after a weekend of snow and freezing frost with the severe conditions set to continue over the next few days, including temperatures as low as minus 10C.