West Midlands Police placed a cordon around a fishing pond in the Smethwick area of Sandwell on Tuesday 15 July after a woman’s body was pulled from the water.

Officers stood close to blue tarpaulin where the deceased lay in the grounds of the secluded pond near Thimblemill Recreation Centre.

An ambulance was parked nearby until undertakers arrived in a black private ambulance to retrieve the victim.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: 'The body of a woman was found in water near Thimblemill Road at around 1.15pm yesterday afternoon (15 July).

‘Her death is not being treated as suspicious and will be referred to the coroner.

‘Our thoughts are with the woman’s family and friends.’

West Midlands Ambulance Service sent members of their Hazardous Area Response Team to the incident as 999 calls came in.

A spokesman for the service said: ‘We were called to an incident off Thimblemill Road in Smethwick just before 1pm (15 July) and sent an ambulance, a paramedic officer, a MERIT trauma doctor with critical care paramedic and the Trust’s Hazardous Response Team (HART) to the scene.

‘On arrival, crews found a woman in the water who was pulled from the water with the assistance of fire service colleagues.

‘Sadly, it quickly became clear she could not be saved and was confirmed dead at the scene.’

It comes less than a week since 16-year-old teenager, Daniel Drewitt drowned in a lake in Sutton Park on July 10.