Cause of death revealed for four children who died in Solihull tragedy as inquest hears boy was in water for 30 minutes

FOUR children drowned after falling through a frozen lake, an inquest has been told.

Siblings Samuel Butler, six, and Finlay Butler, eight, lost their lives along with their cousin Thomas Stewart, 11, and 10-year-old Jack Johnson, at Babbs Mill in Solihull, West Midlands, last Sunday.

They were said to be "playing" on the ice before it cracked.

An initial inquest hearing, held in Birmingham on Monday, was told three of the boys were rescued after 22 minutes in the water, while a fourth was pulled from the lake after 31 minutes.

The deaths of Finlay, Thomas and Jack were confirmed on Monday while Samuel passed away in hospital on Wednesday.

Senior Coroner for Birmingham and Solihull Louise Hunt described the circumstances as a ";devastating tragedy".

"I think, in respect, it is fair to say they very sadly died from the effect of drowning."

Having set out the initial cause of death of drowning, she added "no post-mortem would be required.

Earlier, she heard Jack, from Kingshurst, and Thomas, of Shard End, Birmingham, were identified by their parents at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, and the two brothers, Finlay and Samuel, also both from Kingshurst, at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

She also heard evidence from Detective Inspector Jim Edmonds, of West Midlands Police, who hailed the "heroic efforts" of the emergency services to save the boys.

At a vigil over the weekend, hundreds of mourners brought candles, bouquets, children's toys, and balloons in memory of the youngsters as they struggled to deal with the scale of the loss.

Their families last week paid a heartfelt tribute to their "beautiful boys".

The grief-stricken parents of Sam, Fin and Thomas thanked the local community for their "overwhelming support" following last weekend's horror.

In a statement, they said: "As a family we are devastated at the loss of our beautiful boys in such tragic circumstances.

"We would like to thank the emergency services for all they did in rescuing the boys and to the community for their support, it has been overwhelming."

In a poignant message, Thomas' older brother wrote: "I love you Tom, big bro will take care of the family and I will see you soon.

"Make sure you keep practising on Warzone and get a win, will you?"

He went on to describe Thomas as "a lively little soul" with "a big heart for such a young kid" who loved to play outdoors with his pals.

Writing before he learned his younger cousin Samuel had also died, he said: "Can't forget about my dinosaur man Fin.

"He loved dinosaurs so much and always showing me new things he built on Minecraft and all the new stuff he learnt on it. Gonna miss you little man."

Jack was a ray of sunshine who would never fail to make us all smile.

Cieran FlahertyHeadteacher

The family also offered their condolences to relatives of Jack, who dived into the freezing lake after spotting the three in trouble.

Cieran Flaherty, Jack's headteacher at St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, said the youngster had "a heart of gold".

"He was someone who would always check in on others and make sure they were doing OK," Mr Flaherty added.

"He was a joy to teach and a child who we are all so very proud of.

"A ray of sunshine who would never fail to make us all smile.

"We can only say thank you to him for brightening up our lives."

Dr Toby Close, associate headteacher at Thomas's school Park Hall Academy, said: "Tom was a well-liked, caring pupil with real character who went out of his way to look after those around him.

"He was a fiercely loyal friend to so many in our school community. In the short time he was at Park Hall, his outgoing personality, energy and wit shone through.

"We will miss him brightening every day with his great sense of humour.

"He radiated a love for learning with his infectious smile and enthusiastic manner."

'UNIMAGINABLE GRIEF'

The boys were hauled out of the water at Babbs Mill after the alarm was raised on December 11.

Police and passers-by waded into the water in a frantic bid to reach them as other children offered branches and trees.

One rookie officer, without any specialist clothing and wearing only his uniform, went in waist deep and broke the ice with his bare hands.

The boys were rescued and taken to the water's edge where paramedics began CPR but each was in cardiac arrest.

Fin and Thomas died shortly after arriving at hospital.

Jack, who did not know the other three boys, died hours later and Sam lost his fight for life on Wednesday.

Supt Rich Harris, of West Midlands Police, said: "This is a tragedy beyond words and a grief that is unimaginable for the families and friends of the boys.

"The support from the community has been overwhelming, not just for the bereaved families, but also for the emergency services, for which we are extremely grateful.

"Our officers will remain in the area in the coming days.

"Please come and speak to us if you need to."