Teenage boy found dead in Birmingham Sutton Park lake

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

West Midlands Police said the discovery was 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.

The police force said it was liaising with the coroner.

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 the emergency services seen getting in and out the water at times.

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

But it said when the boy was already dead 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 arrived at 04:35 there was no sign of activity from the night before.

He said: “It’s a tragedy really, such a young life lost.”

There are signs around the lake warning people not to swim, but Mr Stewart said: “When I’m 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, Saturday’s run 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 person, who arrived at the lake to pay his respects but did not want to be identified, said: “Kid’s lost a life because he’s 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 Powell’s Pool, where the teenager’s 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 Powell’s 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 that 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 that’s an emergency life raft buoy, branch or an inflatable, throw that to them in the water.”