Four boys who died after falling into a frozen lake in Solihull have been named by police.
Brothers Samuel Butler, six, and Finlay Butler, eight; their cousin Thomas Stewart, 11, and Jack Johnson, 10, were identified by West Midlands Police.
Three of the boys, Jack, Thomas and Finlay, died on Sunday after falling into Babbs Mill Lake.
Samuel was taken to hospital in a critical condition, but died yesterday.
In a statement, released through West Midlands Police, the parents of Thomas, Finlay and Samuel, said: “As a family we are devastated at the loss of our beautiful boys Tom, Fin and Sam in such tragic circumstances.
Image: Police divers search the lake in Babbs Mill Park in Kingshurst, Solihull
“We would like to thank the emergency services for all they did in rescuing the boys and to the community for their support, it has been overwhelming.
“We would like to pass on our condolences to Jack’s family at this very sad time, and ask for privacy from the media to begin to grieve.”
‘He was a lively little soul’
Thomas’ older brother paid tribute to him and his cousin.
He wrote: “Thomas was such a lively little soul, he had a big heart for such a young kid and he was so beautiful. He loved being outside playing with his mates.
“I love you Tom, big bro will take care of the family and I will see you soon.”
Paying tribute to Finlay, he wrote: “Can’t forget about my dinosaur man Fin, he loved dinosaurs so much and always showing me new things he built on Minecraft and all the new stuff he learnt on it.
“Gonna miss you little man.”
Image: Officers lay bouquets of flowers and stood in silence near to the scene in Babbs Mill Park
Friends say the four children were playing around the icy lake on Sunday when one of the boys’ legs fell through.
According to one friend, the other three children fell into the water as they attempted to help him.
The four children were all in cardiac arrest when rescue teams pulled them out and emergency services rushed them to hospital.
Police say Finlay and Thomas died shortly after, and Jack also died on Sunday. Samuel died in hospital on Wednesday, officers confirmed.
Extensive underwater searches were carried out following the incident and have now concluded, police say.
‘A tragedy beyond words’
Superintendent Rich Harris described the incident as a “tragedy beyond words”.
In a statement, he said: “(The) grief is unimaginable for the families and friends of the boys.
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Lake deaths: Paramedics pay respects
“The support from the community has been overwhelming, not just for the bereaved families, but also for the emergency services, for which we are extremely grateful.
“Our officers will remain in the area in the coming days. Please come and speak to us if you need to.”
Premier League stars pay tribute
It comes as Aston Villa stars Tyrone Mings and John McGinn paid their respects on Wednesday to the boys.
The Premier League footballers visited a makeshift memorial, set up near to the scene of the incident.
Image: Aston Villa stars John McGinn and Tyrone Mings pay tribute at a makeshift memorial to the boys
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.
“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.
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Tyrone Mings and John McGinn pay respects at lake
“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.”
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.
Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections next week.
Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage’s party on a national level.
“I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips,” she said.
However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing that some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, “you have to do what is right for your local area”.
“You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents,” she said. “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.
“They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.”
She added: “What I don’t want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities.”
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A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May – mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year’s general election.
It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.
Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.
The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Image: Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Image: Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Wrexham AFC have been promoted for the third season in a row.
The North Wales-based side has gone from the National League to the Championship in just three seasons, under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wrexham were second in the table and had a run of eight games unbeaten ahead of their match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which they won 3-0.
Image: Wrexham’s James McClean lifts the League One trophy. Pic: PA
Image: Wrexham’s Dan Scarr celebrates with the fans on the pitch after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
It is the first time any club has been promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football.
The third oldest association football club in the world, Wrexham AFC was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020, and has since been the subject of a Disney+ documentary, Welcome To Wrexham.
Reynolds, wearing a Wrexham sweatshirt, and McElhenney were pictured celebrating each goal, and after the game, as the fans came onto the pitch at the SToK Cae Ras (Racecourse Ground) to celebrate the victory with the players.
Image: Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife Blake Lively, before the match. Pic: PA
Both stars came onto the pitch after the supporters returned to the stands.
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Speaking to Sky Sports, McElhenney praised those behind the scenes, referring to “so many that don’t get the credit they deserve, people who aren’t talked about”.
Reynolds said bringing success back to the club “seemed like an impossible dream” when they arrived in North Wales in 2020.
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Image: Wrexham’s Sam Smith celebrates in front of the fans after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
He put the three promotions down to “the coaching staff, the greatest dressing room” and an “all for one, one for all” attitude throughout the club, adding he was “speechless with their commitment and their emotion”.
As for the mouth-watering prospect of another promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, the pair agreed it was “for tomorrow”, before ending the interview with a joint mic-drop.
Veteran striker Steven Fletcher said, “as soon as I came to this club, I knew it was something special. We want to go again. We’ll reset in the summer, take a break and go again”.