With the new school year well and truly underway, British Transport Police (BTP) is urging parents to speak to their children and make sure they are not taking dangerous short cuts home.
While youngsters are twice as likely to go on the tracks during the summer months than in the winter, as autumn approaches we are reminding people not to be complacent – especially parents whose children are making their own way to and from school for the first time.
During the holidays, some regions saw reductions in trespass incidents compared to last year, with the South East, East Anglia and Yorkshire and Humberside recording the biggest drops.
But despite the best efforts of BTP officers - who caught 126 trespassers across the UK in the six weeks of the holidays - and a hard-hitting anti-trespass campaign featuring videos seen by more than 600,000 people on social media, those in other areas still need to take a reality check when it comes to trespass.
Chief Superintendent Paul Brogden from BTP said, “Despite our repeated warnings, it appears some people still aren’t getting the message when it comes to trespass. We are doing all we can to raise awareness of the dangers of trespassing, which has life changing consequences – not just for those who risk their lives by going on the tracks – but also for drivers and other rail staff who are left extremely distressed after witnessing near-misses or incidents where trespassers are killed or seriously injured.
“Along with Network Rail, we are going to work really hard throughout the coming school year to try and educate as many students as possible in hotspot areas about the hazards of playing on the tracks and taking shortcuts home along them. But parents have a part to play too. Is your child getting the train for the first time on their own to get to senior school or college? Does their route home take them near the railway line? If so, please speak to them and make sure they understand trespass is not a game: they are real tracks, with real trains and real life consequences.”
“Along with Network Rail, we are going to work really hard throughout the coming school year to try and educate as many students as possible in hotspot areas about the hazards of playing on the tracks and taking shortcuts home along them. But parents have a part to play too. Is your child getting the train for the first time on their own to get to senior school or college? Does their route home take them near the railway line? If so, please speak to them and make sure they understand trespass is not a game: they are real tracks, with real trains and real life consequences.”
