People on frozen water prompt urgent warning from police forces

People were filmed doing push ups and playing ice hockey on a frozen pond in Verulamium Park in St Albans

Many calls about children and adults on frozen water have sparked urgent pleas from police forces, as England is gripped with ice warnings.

It has been one week since four boys aged six, eight, 10 and 11 died after plunging into icy waters in Solihull.

Recent incidents have been reported in Derbyshire, London, Lincolnshire and Merseyside.

It comes as the Met Office has issued snow, ice and rain weather warnings for most of the country on Sunday.

An amber warning for ice has been given for parts of the North East, the North West and Yorkshire, while most of England has a yellow warning for ice, with rain due in the south.

Finlay Butler, his younger brother Samuel, their cousin Thomas Stewart and a friend, Jack Johnson, were pulled from icy waters at Babbs Mill Park, near Solihull, last Sunday.

Hundreds of people attended a vigil for the boys on Saturday evening.

Jack Johnson, brothers Finlay and Samuel Butler and their cousin Thomas Stewart died after falling into the icy lake

On the same day, Avon and Somerset Police issued a safety warning after taking "multiple calls" about children playing on a frozen pond.

People were filmed doing push ups and playing ice hockey on a frozen pond in Verulamium Park in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

Lincolnshire Police also reported that two young boys had walked across a canal in Grantham and three boys had later gone on to a frozen lake in Horncastle.

Officers in Cambridgeshire were called out to three incidents of children playing on frozen lakes and police in Northamptonshire also had calls about children on icy water on Saturday.

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Telford First Responders said it was "incredibly sad" to see someone had taken their bike across a frozen pond.

Suffolk County Council reported on Friday that children in Lowestoft had tested ice on a frozen pond, which after an inspection was only a few centimetres thick.

London Fire Brigade said it had received several calls across the week about children and dogs on frozen waters.

Earlier in the week, children were spotted playing on lakes in the Solihull borough and in ponds in Staffordshire.

In Derbyshire, young people were filmed messing around on an icy lake on Thursday, while in Liverpool, adults filmed skating on a frozen pond were "abusive" when warned of the dangers.

Staying safe near frozen water

• Children should not go on the ice under any circumstances

• Stay away from the edge of bodies of water as uneven terrain can make slips and falls more likely

• Whenever possible, stick to well-lit routes away from water

• Keep dogs on a lead when they are near the ice, and do not throw sticks or toys on to the ice

• If a pet falls in, do not go on to the ice nor into the water to rescue them - move somewhere where the dog can climb out and call them to you

Source: Royal Life Saving Society UK

In Himley Park, Staffordshire, a woman was rescued from an icy lake after she went in to try to save her dog.

London Fire Brigade implored people to "stay off the ice and keep dogs on leads".

"It may look sturdy enough to stand on, but it often isn't. If you fall into icy water, the risk of hypothermia is high and can prove fatal," a spokesman added.

One of the incidents reported included a group of adults who were seen walking on a frozen pond in Liverpool

BBC forecaster Nick Miller said much milder weather would begin later on Sunday, which would cause ice to thaw.

"Temperatures will continue to rise on Sunday night and on Monday, highs of 10C to 15C across the UK can be expected," he added.