Police take action after boys seen playing on the ice in York

Police had to step in after children were seen on a frozen pond in York.

Four boys were seen on the ice at Rowntree Park.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “We come across four lads standing on the frozen pond, trying to smash the ice with a scooter.

“They’ve been a suitably advised to give more thought to their life choices.”

The incident happened yesterday morning (Sunday), hours before tragedy struck in the West Midlands.

Four children were rushed to hospital after falling through ice on a lake in Solihull.

West Midlands Police today said that three of the boys, aged eight, 10 and 11, have died. A fourth boy, aged six, remains in a critical condition in hospital.

North Yorkshire Police’s intervention caused a great deal of comment, with some residents remembering skating on the pond in past years.

But others warned of the dangers. One said: “If you go through the ice you’re going to struggle to get out again even if it’s only 4 ft deep, your only way out will be to smash a channel through the ice to the bank to climb out.”

Another said: “Don’t advise or encourage skating on here. All it takes is to fall under and struggle to get back out. Can’t understand why anyone would be prepared to risk that in all honesty.”

A mother said: “I have walked past it with a pram in the snow and ice and the ice formed a slope towards the pond, which if I had slipped would have put me and the baby in the pram at risk…

“I turned around and avoided the area. It is very dangerous there, beautiful but dangerous!”

And a third wrote: “Definitely not the safest, cold water shock will start instantly.”

Meanwhile, the city walls in York are closed due to the ice.

The sub zero temperatures are forecast to last until Saturday.