Unimaginable pain over boys' Solihull lake deaths - aunt

Families of three young boys who died after being pulled from an icy lake are suffering unimaginable pain, a family member has said.

The children, aged eight, 10 and 11, died after emergency calls to Babbs Mill Park, near Solihull, on Sunday.

The 10-year-old has been named as Jack Johnson but the identities of the other two boys are yet to be confirmed, as mourners leave tributes near the lake.

Another boy, six, rescued from the water remains in a critical condition.

Searches of the lake continued throughout Tuesday but police stressed there was no suggestion anybody else was missing.

On Monday night, mourners gathered for a candle-lit vigil, leaving flowers, soft toys and balloons.

Throughout the day, people were standing in shock not knowing what to do or say - and so remained quiet.

Jack's aunt Charlotte McIlmurray thanked the local community on social media for their support.

She described the boys' deaths as a nightmare, saying the pain of losing them was "unimaginable".

Messages of love and support have been left for the boys and their families along with flowers and soft toys.

One tribute, in a child's writing, read: "Rest in peace, I'm going to miss you forever."

John Eustace, head coach at Birmingham City FC, was among those to lay flowers at the lakeside.

The blue and white arrangement held a card which read: "Sending our deepest condolences and love to those affected by this tragedy.

"You are in our thoughts. From everyone at Birmingham City Football Club."

He then stood for a moment in silence before leaving.

Onlookers applauded when a group of 21 police officers from the Chelmsley Wood neighbourhood policing team marched to the memorial spot.

They held a two-minute silence and on Twitter they thanked the community for the kindness shown towards the police force.

"The support from residents for our staff and other emergency services that attended the incident has been overwhelming," they said.

Shaun Gordon, 45, told the BBC how he had had to break the news to his daughter, a classmate of Jack's.

"It was heart-breaking," he said. "As a parent, it's just tragic."

The family came to lay flowers on Tuesday which Mr Gordon said helped ease his daughter's pain.

Some of Jack's other classmates also came to lay flowers at the end of the school day.

The community here knows all the boys who have died but out of respect for the families they are waiting for their names to be formally confirmed by police.

Instead, on candles and notes they refer to them as little soldiers, three kings and the Babbs Mill Boys.

A neighbour of one of the boys was distraught when she opened the door to reporters earlier. She said what had happened was a "complete and utter tragedy".

Members of the public and police officers initially went into the water to try to get the children, before they were reached by specialist water rescue-trained firefighters.

West Midlands Police said one of its officers had to punch through the ice to try to rescue the boys.

The force is being guided by the families as to how much information is made available to the media, Supt Richard Harris said, adding it was doing "everything we possibly can to support them".

"People have said it feels like being in a movie," said Reverend Mandy Harris, from the nearby St Barnabas Church.

"This is what happens everywhere else, this doesn't happen in Kingshurst."

She said some of the boys' classmates had come to the church "not knowing where to turn or give voice to their grief".

She spoke of the strength of community spirit in the area as people pull together to mourn.

The chair of governors at Jack's school, St Anthony's Catholic Primary, said the community was "very, very close-knit".

"We've got families that have been here for five generations," Marcus Brain told BBC Radio 5 Live. "Everybody knows everybody else.

"Everybody I've spoken to... are in an utter state of shock."

The school shut on Monday after the incident and reopened on Tuesday morning.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his sympathies to the families of the children who had died.

One resident, Dan, said he had heard sirens from his flat that overlooks the lake after the children got into trouble on Sunday afternoon.

He said he had grabbed jackets and towels which were given to the boys when they were pulled from the water.

"Then 15 minutes later I am back in my flat and they'd brought them up on stretchers," Dan said.

Another vigil for the boys is due to be held on Sunday.

A local Rotary club has cancelled its annual Santa sleigh charity event which had been due to go around Kingshurst on Wednesday and Thursday.

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