Police warning after youths spotted playing on Sheffield railway lines

Officers revealed three youths were spotted playing on tracks around a mile from Dore & Totley station in the Millhouses area.

Another incident involved a ten-year-old boy who was trepassing near to the Bradway Tunnel in Dronfield. Both incidents happened withing a week of each other last Sunday.

Senior police chiefs said anyone who trespasses on railway lines are ‘dicing with death’.

Inspector Graham Bridges said: “Sadly we have seen instances of children who thought they were just indulging in some harmless fun being struck by trains.

“The consequences of playing on the tracks could potentially be fatal. I cannot over emphasise just how dangerous this is. We continue to work with Network Rail to look at ways of reducing the number of incidents. We are also visiting schools to engage with children and young people about the dangers of the railway.

“Apart from the potential human cost, and the obvious trauma it can cause the driver of a train who spots someone on the line, delays caused by trespass cause massive inconvenience to rail passengers, whose services are delayed or cancelled.”

BTP are calling on parents and schools to do their bit to get the message across that playing near railway lines is extremely dangerous.

Additional patrols of hotspot areas such as those in Dore and Dronfield are also being undertaken as part of a range of proactive measures to reduce the number of incidents

With school holidays approaching officers are keen to reinforce the message.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40, or text 61016, quoting reference 342 of 06/07/2016. Information can also be passed anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111