Two 11-year-old girls have been rescued after being trapped on a frozen River Trent.
One of the youngsters had fallen through the ice.
The other was stranded on an island.
The girls were said to be “unharmed but extremely cold”.
A passer-by spotted the girls’ difficulty and alerted the emergency services.
Nottinghamshire Police Chief Inspector Duncan Southall added:
“The girls are extremely lucky to have been unharmed.
“If it hadn’t been for this person raising the alarm there could have been tragic consequences.
“It was getting dark at the time and was freezing cold.
“They are incredibly lucky this person saw them.
“I hope this serves as a stark reminder to others that it is not safe to play on the ice as it can easily crack and put people in great danger.
“Icy water can be incredibly dangerous.”
The rescue comes only days after two bodies were recovered from a car swept into the Trent.
The blue car was last seen more than two weeks ago being swept along the swollen river.
Poor weather and a dangerously swollen Trent prevented earlier recovery.
Inspector Tim Ringer said:
“Underwater recoveries of this nature are always very challenging, but our divers’ work has been further complicated by the very fast flowing water at the site.
“It was simply not safe to attempt this work.”
