Leicester: Father tried to rescue son, 2, who fell into river

The father of a missing two-year-old boy who fell into a river in Leicester entered the water to try to rescue his child, police have confirmed.

Officers were called to the River Soar, in the Aylestone area, just after 17:00 GMT on Sunday.

Emergency services, including water rescue teams, attended but were unable to locate the child, who was with his family at the time he fell in.

Additional specialist teams joined the search on Monday.

The father was taken to hospital following the incident as a precautionary measure, Leicestershire Police added. He has since been discharged.

The force said the boy's family was being supported by officers "at this extremely difficult time".

Assistant Chief Constable Michaela Kerr said: "Our priority for Leicestershire Police is to make sure we find the little boy.

"I would like to thank members of the public for their support yesterday.

"But, at the same time, I'd like to really emphasise how dangerous this area is at the moment and ask that members of the public do refrain from coming back to this location for their own safety."

ACC Kerr said the force was receiving help from Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire police forces, as well as national resources.

She said specialist divers were at the river, adding "we continue to use the helicopter and aerial technology to try and locate the little boy".

"I would like to reassure people that there will continue to be policing presence and policing activity overnight at the river," she added.

Sgt Chris Haines, who is leading the search operation, said on Monday evening: "Underwater dive teams are doing extensive searches, which they are continuing at present."

He added that searches would continue "over the next couple of days".

A 65-year-old nurse, who asked not to be named, was standing on a bridge over the river when she saw a man enter the water.

"I didn't see the child fall in, but I heard shouting and at that point I didn't know what was going on," she said.

"I was running to tell the man to get out the water because it was an absolute torrent last night.

"I saw the man disappear under the arch. Then I knew there was a child in the water and I tried to look myself."

Sarah Gilbert, 44, who lives near Marsden Lane, said: "It was awful - everybody felt so sick. As a community we're all feeling sick."

Sue Pyecroft was walking her dog in the area shortly after the boy fell in.

She said there was a "really powerful current" because the river was flooding, with water coming up to the edge of the path.

"It was quite distressing," she said. "The river always floods. It almost becomes one river.

"It was very fast flowing, so it became quite dangerous."

Just before 11:30, the Environment Agency issued a flood alert for the River Soar in Leicestershire.

The agency advised people to "avoid using low-lying footpaths near local watercourses and avoid contact with flood water".

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