Shock and sadness after body of teenage boy is recovered from 'notorious' area of water at Netherton reservoir

Councillor Elaine Taylor said she just felt so sad for the family and friends of the teenager and said it reinforced her own belief that more should be done to educate people around water safety.

She said: "I just think it's so sad for the family and the young man's friends as it's at the beginning of the holidays and what should be a lovely time has become one that is going to change their lives forever.

"I think we need to reinforce how dangerous our pools and reservoirs, canals and rivers, are and I think there's a lesson here that we need to bring to the forefront again and make youngsters aware of the dangers.

"My sympathies, thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends and everyone who is going to left without the youngster as this is something they're going to have to live with and it's just so sad for them."

The disappearance of the 16-year-old at the reservoir on Tuesday evening had seen a huge emergency services response since he was reported to have got into difficulties at around 6.30pm and the roads around the reservoir had remained closed for most of the day.

A few police vans and community support officers could be seen on the adjoining Highbridge Road several hours after the body had been recovered, while the road itself had been reopened and traffic was passing by the reservoir, which covers a large area near homes and the Dudley Watersports club.

For residents living nearby and walking around the area, it was another reminder of the dangers present around the reservoir which has claimed several lives in the past.

As recently as May 2, 38-year-old Terrianne Thompson was found in the water after West Midlands Police and the West Midlands Ambulance Service were called to the reservoir, with the mother of two and grandmother of two from Oldbury pronounced dead at the scene.

In January 2020, an inquest found that a Rowley Regis father whose body was found in the reservoir had taken his own life.

Father-of-two 53-year-old Michael Stacey was found dead in the water and had left handwritten suicide notes at his home in Harvest Road, Rowley Regis, and in his car which was parked at the reservoir.

Other deaths at the reservoir saw 39-year-old Michael Penn drown after suggesting to friends during a seven-and-a-half hour drinking session they go for a swim in January 1997, with a cause of death given as drowning as a consequence of alcoholic intoxication and 18-year-old Shaun Robins, who drowned in the reservoir after going under in August 1989.

For one resident, who asked not to be named, the death of the 16-year-old brought back the memories of the previous deaths, saying that he remembered the incident with Shaun Robins.

He said: "We were sat at home when we saw a helicopter over head, then looked out and saw the police vans on the road and blocking the section next to the reservoir, and we thought initially that it was a car chase, then we found out what had happened.

"It reminded me of that incident in 1989 where his friends had run up to my door to ask if we could call the emergency services as they had seen him go under and not come back up, and I think this has happened again because people don't understand how cold the water is and how much they can get into trouble.

"I've seen them put signs up before to warn people about the dangers of the water, but those signs get vandalised and spray painted and people don't take any notice of them, so I don't think people get how dangerous and notorious this water can be."

Other residents said they agreed about the dangers of the reservoir, which measures as far wide as 250 metres, has a surface area of 60,000 m2 and measures as deep as 15 metres.

One resident said: "I've been hearing stories about this all day, as to what had happened, whether it was two people and whether anyone had been found, and it's very sad to hear about the death.

"Sadly, I'm not surprised either as it's deadly down there in that reservoir and if you go in and don't know what you're doing, there might be a chance you don't get out safely."

Another resident, who lives on the lane alongside the reservoir, said he was sickened to hear of another death in the water.

He said: "It's sickening to hear about something like that happened so close to your doorstep.

"We all know about that reservoir and the dangers of it and I think that if you know about it, you'll be ok, but there's a lot of people who don't know about it and get into trouble when they go in."

The new Dudley MP Sonia Kumar also offered her own sympathies to the family on social media and also praised the emergency services.

She wrote: "The tragic news that a teenage boy in our borough has died is heartbreaking. My deepest condolences to the boy's family and friends.

"I want to thank the emergency services and specialist teams for their efforts at Netherton Reservoir, and to the wider community for their support."