Police are warning of the dangers of frozen over lakes after four separate incidents involving adults and children playing on the Lake at Abbey Fields in Kenilworth.

On Monday 21 December 2009 at 1pm police attended the lake following a report of six teenagers cycling on the lake towards the thawed area in the middle. Officers instructed the youths to come off the lake and gave advice to the extreme danger they were exposing themselves too.

On Tuesday 22 December at 2.45pm a call was made to Police following youths skate boarding and cycling on the lake, officers from the team attended and gave strong words of advice to the youths.

On Christmas Eve at 3.50pm police were informed of four youths playing on the ice, concerned passers by were shouting to the youths to get off the lake however these youths chose to ignore the advice. Police attended the location within 10 minutes however the youths had since seen sense and left the area.

On Monday 4 December at 3.10pm several members of the public called police with concerns for "loads of kids" playing on the iced lake. Police were on scene within minutes, to their dismay they located both young children and parents walking across the iced lake. Safety advice was given to both parents and children.

Acting Sergeant Morland stated "Each and everyone of these calls we have treated as priority, the team have dropped routine enquires to attend the lake. This is because we realise the potential harm that can occur from walking on a frozen lake. Thankfully each report has been resolved by people being given safety advice.

"I am sure the majority of people reading this will recall tragedies that have been reported in the national press of adults and children drowning after venturing onto frozen stretches of water, I sincerely do not want this to happen in Kenilworth, therefore I am urging all parents and carers of School Children to take a few minutes during their day to talk about the dangers of frozen lakes with their children.

"So seriously are we taking this potential risk of harm we have made contact with every Primary and Secondary School advising teaching staff to re inforce the potential dangers of frozen lakes when pupils return to School.

"We are currently experiencing a prolonged cold spell not seen for over 25 years I fully understand that playing on iced lakes can be seen as a novelty to some children and parents.

"There is no uniformity in the formation of the ice and it can become very thin very quickly,” he said. “If someone does fall through the ice at the temperatures we have been experiencing the consequences could be fatal.”

Please enjoy the wintry weather but be mindful of the dangers.