We miss him dearly, say family of lake tragedy teenager

The teenager was named as Phillip Law by police who issued a fresh warning to youngsters to stay away from lakes during the hot weather.

Phillip, who was from the Rawmarsh area of Rotherham, was pulled from a lake at Manvers Way, in nearby Wath-upon-Dearne by police divers on Wednesday afternoon.

South Yorkshire Police said they were alerted to a small group of teenagers swimming in the water at 12.20pm.

Officers searched for Phillip after it was clear one of the group was missing and the divers brought his body from the water at about 2pm.

He was taken to Sheffield Children's Hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 2.20pm.

On Thursday, his family issued a statement which said: "We are obviously devastated by the loss of a much-loved son and brother.

"We miss him dearly. Our thanks go out to his friends that tried to save him.

"At this moment in time, we would like to be left alone to grieve in private."