CCTV of moment boy, 2, 'falls in River Soar' found by police as hunt continues

20 February 2024 , 13:06

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Police are still searching for a two-year-old boy who fell in the River Soar in Leicester on Sunday (Image: PA)

Detectives believe they have CCTV which shows the moment a two-year-old boy fall into a river in Leicester.

The youngster, whose identity is still being kept under wraps, disappeared into the River Soar while walking in the Aylestone Meadows area with family on Sunday at around 5pm. The search for the toddler entered its third day on Tuesday as there remains no trace.

Now Leicestershire Police say they have obtained footage which appears to show the horrifying moment it happened. In an update on Tuesday afternoon, the force said it was ramping up efforts by drafting in the Met's search dog team and search crews from two other forces.

A spokesperson for the force said: "From enquiries conducted so far and from studying CCTV from the local area we have obtained footage which we believe shows the young boy falling into the water." Assistant Chief Constable Michaela Kerr said on Tuesday that their priority remained locating the child after saying on Monday she was "confident" he would be found.

Teams from Kent and West Midlands Police, as well as the Met's marine recovery dogs unit, have all been drafted in to help with the search (Tom Maddick SWNS)

She said: “We have had tremendous support from the local community, and we thank everyone who has assisted with our enquiries. This is an extremely difficult time for the family, our thoughts are very much with them, and we continue to support them.

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“A number of teams from across the force and region have assisted us during this operation and our priority remains to locate the young boy. Thank you to all our officers and specialist teams who continue to work extremely hard at the scene in what are very difficult circumstance for everyone involved.”

The boy's father also entered the water on Sunday after the youngster fell in, which it's believed was a desperate attempt to rescue him. The man was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure and later discharged.

The search remains ongoing (PA)

Police meanwhile have reiterated warnings to the public not to try and help out in the search. Water levels around the river are extremely high due to recent flooding, furthering the risk to volunteers.

The force said on Tuesday that Kent and West Midlands Police had now joined the search which includes specialist diving teams from Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, while dogs from the Metropolitan Police's Marine Recovery unit were also involved.

A police helicopter, drones and extra help from Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Team have all so far been involved in the search.

Susie Beever