Second vigil for boys who died after falling into freezing Babbs Mill Lake in Kingshurst, Solihull, planned

A second vigil will be held for the four boys who died at Babbs Mill Lake in Kingshurst, Solihull.

The boys died after falling through ice into a freezing lake in Solihull last Sunday (Decmber 11). The youngsters have been named as Jack Johnson, 10, who passed away after bravely trying to save brothers Finlay Butler aged eight and Sam Butler aged six, and their 11-year-old cousin Thomas Stewart.

The vigil is taking place near the lake at 4pm today (Saturday, December 17). It is being held to support the family, friends and wider community. No one organisation has organised it. The decision for it to be held has come about organically through people wanting to pay tribute to the youngsters.

Solihull Council has now erected around the lake where the boys fell in. Tributes have been paid to the youngsters across the country and world - including from the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer in the House of Commons.

Countless people have laid flowers and toys next to the lake in memory of Jack, Finlay, Sam and Thomas - from the community, Aston Villa, Birmingham City and more.

Nearby St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School, where Jack was a pupil, closed on Monday and reopened on Tuesday. Pupils at the school have held a memorial service for the boys. The school said on Twitter: “Beautiful tribute to Jack this morning in church as we gathered together for mass. We were joined by Jack’s family and our school family. It was very moving. We were joined by a number of visitors including his Grace Archbishop Bernard and members of @WMFSSheldon”

Second vigil to be held

A vigil was held at Babbs Mill on Monday (12 December) in memory of the three boys. Members of the community came together to mourn and pay their respects following the heartbreaking tragedy. The public left flowers for the boys during the gathering.

And a second candlelight vigil will now take place this Saturday (17 December) at 4pm in Babbs Mill. People can attened the event to pay their respects following the heartbreaking incident.

Superintendent Richard Stanton warned about the dangers of open water at a press conference on Monday, saying: “We are deeply saddened by the death of the three boys who were rescued by our fire fighters yesterday, here at Babbs Mill Lake in Solihull.

“The boys deaths are a tragedy beyond words and our thoughts and our heartfelt sympathies, along with West Midlands Fire Service are with their families, friends and the wider community at this distressing time.

“Yesterday’s incident is a stark reminder to us all of the dangers of open water, especially during the winter months. Frozen lakes, ponds, canals and reservoirs can look picturesque, but they can be lethal  - and there are no greater warnings of this than yesterday’s tragic event.

“We would ask parents and carers to remind their children of the dangers and advise why they must keep off it. Please help us to avoid this from happening again.

“We will continue to work closely with our emergency service colleagues to provide any support we can at the scene. Again, we extend our heartfelt sympathies to everyone who has been affected by this.”

A fundraising page set up to help the boys families with funeral costs has raised over £60,000 since it was set up on Thursday. The Gofundme page for the grieving families of the ‘Babbs Mill Princes’ smashed its £10,000 target within 16 hours.