Two-year-old boy reported to have fallen into river in Leicester

A search operation has been launched after reports of a two-year-old boy falling into a river in Leicester.

The child had been with his family when he fell into the River Soar and has yet to be located, according to Leicestershire police.

The operation was ongoing and would continue with “additional specialist teams” on Monday morning, the force said.

Emergency services attended the scene shortly after 5pm on Sunday and a search and rescue operation began in Aylestone Meadows, close to Marsden Lane.

Leicestershire fire and rescue service said police were leading the operation.

Police said a man was taken to hospital “as a precautionary measure”. The child’s family were being supported by specialist officers.

The force said: “Our thoughts are with them at this extremely difficult time. We have had a number of offers of support to assist with the search and would kindly ask that people do not attend the scene due to rising water levels and safety risks.

“If anyone has any information or comes across anything that may assist officers, they are asked to contact us immediately.”

People are asked to contact 999 with information quoting incident 476:180224.