Three boys aged eight, 10 and 11 have died after falling into an icy lake near Solihull on Sunday.

A fourth boy, aged six, remains in a critical condition in hospital.

It is thought they had been playing on ice in Babbs Mill Park, in Kingshurst, West Midlands Police said.

They were rushed to hospital after being pulled from the water, but officers said on Monday the three were unable to be revived.

The force said its thoughts were with their family and friends "at this deeply devastating time".

"We'll have specialist officers offering them as much support as we can," it said.

"Searches of the lake are continuing as we seek to establish exactly what happened and if anyone else fell into the water," the force continued.

"We understand how distressing this is for the families and the wider community."

Members of the public and police officers initially went into the freezing water to try to get the youngsters out, before the children were reached by specialist firefighters.

Temperatures are thought to have plunged to 1C (34F) in the area at the time of the incident, falling to -3C (26F) overnight.

A fire service spokesman said the incident served as reminder of the dangers of frozen water.

"It can look picturesque but can be lethal," he said. "Please help avoid this from happening again."

'Own safety'
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said his thoughts were with the families.

He spoke to Meriden MP Saqib Bhatti, who was visiting the scene, and said it was particularly hard thinking about the case as a father of two young daughters.

Mr Bhatti praised the emergency services for their efforts.

"In these conditions not to worry about your own safety and just to go after those children is heroic," he said.

People have been gathering near the lake to find out the latest, with the mood understandably sombre.

Nish Chauhan from BBC WM said residents were arriving at the scene with hot drinks for the emergency workers.

One resident, Dan, told him how he had heard the sirens and saw people running down to the site. He grabbed his jacket and ran down to see if he could help.

"It's shocking, I haven't really been able to sleep to be honest," he said.

On Sunday, Supt Richard Harris, of West Midlands Police, said one officer had suffered "mild hypothermia" during the rescue operation, but was making a recovery after being taken to hospital as a precaution.