Man dies after falling into frozen lake

A man died after falling into frozen fishing lake after an argument with his family.

The 32-year-old is thought to have spent half an hour in the water after plunging through thin ice.

The Essex Air Ambulance and a water rescue team were called, and firefighters used a sledge and a dinghy to edge their way across the ice to the man where they made a hole in the surface to drag him out.

He was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation at the scene, but died at Southend hospital through a combination of hypothermia and drowning injuries.

The man, believed to be from Basildon, was walking a dog with his sister and nephew at Doggetts Lake in Rochford, Essex, yesterday lunchtime. A council source said: "The victim had a blistering row with his family.

"His last words were I'm off', before he strode across the lake.

"It was a purposeful walk about 50 or 60 yards to where the ice was thinnest.

"There was no-one else involved, he just found the weak spot."

The fire brigade repeated warnings not to walk on frozen lakes.