A 10-year-old boy died a hero after he tried to save three young boys who fell through the ice while playing on a frozen lake.
Jack Johnson ‘ran and tried’ to save the boys, whom he didn’t know, after he saw them fall through ice at 2:30 pm on Sunday afternoon.
Dale Hewitt, a friend of the grieving family, said he heard the boy’s grandfather ‘ran down from where he lives and jumped in the lake to try to save them.’
Sadly, Jack and the two other children aged 8 and 11 tragically died after being pulled from the freezing water, while another boy, aged 6, was still in the hospital fighting for his life.
The community gathered at Babbs Mill Park to pay tribute to the children, with many leaving balloons, candles and flowers at a base of a tree near the park.
“It’s just heartbreaking for the family and will have a massive impact on the whole community,” Mr. Hewitt continued.
“What’s happened is so sad. I’ve got two kids aged six and 11 months and it has really affected me. I saw a video taken from one of the tower blocks where you can hear these screams of “help” coming from the lake. It was unbearable,” Mr. Hewitt added.
The boy’s aunt, Charlotte McIlmurray, also said: “We are just broken over it and to find out he died trying to save three lads he didn’t even know that just sums him up he was amazing.”
The children had been playing at Babbs Mill Lake in Solihull, West Midlands when the ice suddenly collapsed.
10-year-old Tommy Barnet told Sky News: “One got their legs stuck in the ice and then… his friends went to go and save him, but they all fell in.”
More than 250 people attended a candlelit vigil. Police officers also arrived and laid flowers.
One tribute left at the scene read: “To my friend Thomas. Thanks for being there for me when I was sad. Thanks for lending me your jacket when I was cold. You were like a brother to me. I miss you so much.”
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