Babbs Mill: Bravery award for officers in frozen lake rescue bid

Officers who formed a human chain to rescue four boys from a frozen lake have been recognised for their bravery.

Fourteen West Midlands Police officers tried to save the boys who fell in the Babbs Mill Park lake, near Solihull, on 11 December after feeding ducks.

One officer used his fist in an attempt to punch through the ice to reach them, however the boys could not be saved.

The officers were all handed Police Bravery Awards by the Police Federation of England and Wales on Thursday.

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

A coroner concluded the boys' deaths were accidental.