Four boys who fell through an icy lake in Solihull died after drowning in a “terrible accident”, a coroner has concluded.

Jack Johnson, 10, Thomas Stewart, 11, and his cousins, Finlay Butler, eight, and Samuel Butler, six, all died after falling into Babbs Mill Lake on 11 December last year. The inquest was told Thomas, Finlay and Samuel would be referred to as Tom, Fin and Sam.

The court heard Jack had been part of a group of children who had been playing in the park near the lake when they decided to go to the water to skim stones.

Separately, Tom, Fin and Sam who did not know Jack and the children he was with, had decided to go to the lake to feed the ducks.

Detective Inspector James Edmonds, from West Midlands Police, told the inquests that witnesses had said that once at the lake side, Jack had walked out over the ice.

When Fin arrived at the lake he walked out and began chatting to Jack.

Fin was the first to fall through the ice. As he went into the lake, his older cousin, Tom, who had been chatting to a friend, ran out to try to help him and fell in. Jack then tired to save them and also fell through.

DI Edmonds said no one witnessed Sam falling in but the assumption was that he had rushed to try to help the others.

Witnesses called 999 at 2.34pm and the first police officers arrived at the scene at 2.43pm.

DI Edmonds said against medical advice, those officers formed a human chain and walked into the lake, using their bare hands to get through the ice.

They were not able to reach the place where the boys had fallen through due to the depth of the water. One officer was said to be neck deep.

At 2.45pm, the ambulance service arrived, and at 2.50pm the fire service arrived, with firefighters going into the water some 90 seconds later.

At 2.56pm, Jack, Tom and Sam were found under the water and taken to the banks where CPR began. At 3.05pm Fin was found under the water and brought to the bank for CPR.

DI Edmonds said the boys were found at the bottom of the lake.

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Family members of Jack were in court for the inquest. His grandfather thanked the emergency workers for their response after they had given their evidence.

Representatives of the emergency services paid tribute to both the boys – whose “tragic” deaths they said had affected the community – and to those “who tried so desperately to rescue” the children by forming a human chain.

“They had no specialist equipment but bravely smashed their way through the ice with their batons and fists,” they said.

“We wished the outcome could have been different… this was a tragedy beyond words.”

They added: “If the boys’ loss was not warning enough of the dangers of open water, it is difficult to know what is.

“That dark, freezing day in December seems worlds away, we are now only a few weeks away from the summer months. Even in the summer, as tempting as it may be, open water can kill.

“Please know the dangers… We can’t let something like this happen again.”

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