Solihull: Boys who fell into lake died from drowning

Jack Johnson (left), brothers Finlay and Samuel Butler and Thomas Stewart died after falling into the icy lake

Four boys who fell into an icy lake last week died from drowning, an inquest has heard.

Finlay Butler, eight, and his younger brother Samuel, six, died, as did their cousin Thomas Stewart, 11, and another boy, Jack Johnson, 10.

They were pulled from water at Babbs Mill Park, Kingshurst, in the West Midlands, on 11 December.

The boys were in the water more than 20 minutes after the first 999 calls, the coroner's court heard.

Three were pulled out of the water 22 minutes afterwards, while the fourth boy was pulled out nine minutes after the others, Birmingham and Solihull Coroner's Court was told.

Stories emerged last week of a police officer attempting to punch through ice in a bid to reach them and Det Insp Jim Edmonds paid tribute to the "heroic efforts of everybody involved".

He said a police investigation would "establish the facts of the boys' attendance at the lake and also how they fell into the water".

Firefighters laid flowers at the scene

Monday's hearing was adjourned and a full inquest into all four deaths will take place on 6 July.

Louise Hunt, the senior coroner for Birmingham and Solihull, offered her sincere condolences to the families and said it was a "devastating tragedy".

She said it was difficult to comprehend the pain and grief the families were experiencing.

Ms Hunt said the inquest in July would look at the circumstances leading to the deaths and the cause of death.

It will also include overviews from the three emergency services involved and their responses.

Frozen lake

The deaths of Finlay, Thomas and Jack were confirmed by police the day after the tragedy, while Samuel, six, died in hospital on Wednesday.

Ms Hunt was told Jack, from Kingshurst, and Thomas, of Shard End, Birmingham, were identified by their parents at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital.

The two brothers, Finlay and Samuel, also from Kingshurst, were at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Det Insp Edmonds told the inquest police had received a series of calls from the public on the day.

He said the first call came in at 14:34 GMT on 11 December reporting "four children playing on a frozen lake at Babbs Mill Park had fallen through the ice, into the water".

Flowers, balloons and messages of love continue to be placed near the scene

He said there were further calls from the public, but with some differences as to the number of children involved.

"Emergency services responded at pace and at arrival it became quite apparent this was a major incident and there were numerous members of the public at the location, reporting children had tragically fallen under the water," he said.

The officer said emergency CPR was performed on the children at the scene and they were taken to hospital.

Hundreds of people went to a vigil at the site near Solihull to pay tribute to the boys on Saturday.

There was a two-minute silence and people, some of whom had travelled across the country, brought candles and laid flowers and tributes.