An eight-year-old boy has drowned after he fell into a river in a quiet market town.<br /><br />Joshua Hillstead was pulled from the River Arrow in Alcester, Warks., at around 9.30pm on Monday (22/7).<br /><br />He was given trauma care at the scene before being rushed to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where he died on Tuesday evening.<br /><br />A girl who was also in the river behind Kingfisher Way was assessed but did not need medical treatment.<br /><br />Warwickshire Police say Joshua, from Maypole in Birmingham, suffered “complications resulting from drowning”.<br /><br />Detective Inspector Heidi Twynham said: “Losing a child is devastating, and we offer our condolences to the family after this tragic accident – we are liaising with the family to provide support.<br /><br />“Fast, unpredictable currents and invisible deeper sections make rivers dangerous places, particularly for children and non-confident swimmers. <br /><br />“Please take caution around our waterways.<br /><br />“Thank you to our officers, members of the emergency services, and the hospital staff for everything you’ve done over the past few days.”<br /><br />A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “We were called to reports of patients in the water near Kingfisher Way at 9.32pm, three ambulances, two paramedic officers, a Hazardous Area Response <br />Team paramedic, a community first responder and the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance Critical Care Car attended the scene.<br /><br />"On arrival, we found two patients who were already out of the water and needed medical treatment. <br /><br />“A boy was in a serious condition and received specialist trauma care at the scene before being taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital. <br /><br />“The second patient, a girl, was assessed and discharged at the scene.”<br /><br />The tragedy came just hours before a 16-year-old boy drowned in nearby Netherton reservoir.
