Cops issue urgent warning over where your kids play – make sure they’re safe
COPS have issued an urgent warning to parents over where their kids play.
Police forces across the UK have received reports of youngsters playing on frozen lakes.
Temperatures have plummeted to -6C in some parts of the country today.
And as the wintery weather continues, parents are being urged to discuss the dangers of playing on icy water.
Northants Police said “every second on the ice is a second closer to a tragedy” as they pleaded with the public to stay away from water.
The force said: “This morning we have again had reports of children playing on frozen lakes across the county.
“We cannot stress enough how dangerous this is.
“The ice can break at any second and the temperature of the water is cold enough to take your breath away.
“If you fall in, you can also easily get trapped underneath the ice and even the strongest adult swimmers would find it exceptionally difficult to surface.
“Every second on the ice is a second closer to a tragedy.”
The force said if anyone sees a person or animal in trouble in icy water, they should stay on the bank and phone 999.
It comes after four boys sadly lost their lives last year after falling through a lake in Solihull, West Midlands.
Finlay Butler, eight, his brother Samuel, six, and their 11-year-old cousin Thomas Stewart were killed in the Babbs Mill Lake tragedy on Sunday, December 11.
Jack Johnson, 10, died after heroically attempting to save the others as the horror unfolded.
And just this week, police in Kent were called to reports of children “falling through” ice and into the water.
A witness said she called the emergency services when two children lay on the frozen surface.
In Cleethorpes, the alarm was also raised when a toddler was seen walking hand-in-hand with an adult on the ice just two days ago.