Teenage boy found dead in lake

The body of a teenage boy has been recovered from a lake in Birmingham.

West Midlands Police said the discovery had been made after the boy was reported to have gone missing in the water at Sutton Park just after 18:00 BST on Thursday.

Initially, efforts were made to rescue the boy, West Midlands Ambulance Service said, but they were unsuccessful.

The Our Sutton Park community group also thanked fishermen, who it said had jumped in the water in an attempt to save him.

The group said it wanted to send its "deepest condolences to the parents of the young boy".

His death was not being treated as suspicious, West Midlands Police said, and his family was being supported.

Officers were liaising with the coroner, it added.

The lake is normally a busy area and it is a popular park, but the whole pool was cordoned off while the search was carried out on Thursday.

Boats were used, with emergency services seen getting in and out of the water at times.

West Midlands Ambulance Service said it had been involved in the search and the Midlands Air Ambulance had been sent to the scene.

But it said the boy had already died by the time he was recovered.

The cordon was gone on Friday morning and Raymond Stewart, who regularly fishes in the lake, said when he had arrived at 04:35 there had been no sign of activity from the night before.

He said: "Its a tragedy really, such a young life lost."

There are signs around the lake warning people not to swim, but Mr Stewart said: "When Im fishing here you see people swimming here all the time.

"I was here last Wednesday and there must have been 15 get in the pool."

The swimmers went out in small groups, he said, or on their own and were seen doing a couple of laps.

Sutton Park parkrun said because of the news, Saturdays event would not go ahead and it added: "Our thoughts are with the family and anyone affected at this time."

Birmingham City Council leader John Cotton said: "This is a terrible tragedy and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the teenage boy at this extremely difficult time. We will continue to work closely with police and emergency services."

Flowers have been left beside the pool and one young man, who arrived at the lake to pay his respects but did not want to be identified, said: "Kids lost a life because hes wanted to go out and have a bit of fun with his friends.

"It could have been one of my mates."

Sutton Park is a 2,400-acre National Nature Reserve and one of the largest urban parks in Europe, according to Birmingham City Council.

It includes woodland, heathland, marshes and seven lakes, including Powells Pool, where the teenagers body was discovered.

At a size of 48 acres, it is the largest lake in the park and the pool was used for the swimming element of the triathlon in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

In 2001 another teenage boy, Fraser Amiss, died after diving into Powells Pool with two friends.

In May, Midlands Air Ambulance revealed there had been 18 accidental drowning deaths in the West Midlands region in 2024.

The charity urged people to be careful and understand the dangers of the water.

Liam Webb, a critical care paramedic at the charity, advised people needed to learn to float if they got into difficulty in water.

"Lay back, float and that involves submerging your ears and trying to breathe normally," he said.

"If you find someone in the water, we ask you to call for the emergency services... tell the person in the water to float and throw anything you can to them which could help.

"Whether thats an emergency life raft buoy, branch or an inflatable, throw that to them in the water."

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