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Children Warned To Stay Off Tracks In Summer

Video of children having narrow escapes has been released in a bid to prevent the annual surge of youngsters playing on railway tracks over the summer.

Network Rail (NR) issued the warning after new figures showed children are almost twice as likely to trespass on the railway in the summer than the winter.

The firm, which manages Britain's railway track system, said the longer evenings and extended school holidays "spell danger" for young people.

Analysis of data produced by the Rail Safety and Standards Board during 2015-16 found there were almost 600 trespass incidents involving people under the age of 25 in August, compared with fewer than 300 in December.

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Almost 170 young people have been killed while trespassing on the railway over the last 10 years.

Graham Hopkins, head of safety at Network Rail, said: "We are urging parents to remind their children that if they are on the railway, they are on dangerous ground.

"It may seem like a good idea to take a short cut, or like fun to play on the tracks, but this is not only illegal, it is also dangerous."

Some 72% of all trespassers killed over the past 10 years were hit by a train.

A further 17% were electrocuted, while others fell from structures or trains.

The greatest reason given for the trespass was taking a short cut, with 42% quoting it as a motivation. A further 19% said they trespassed due to thrill-seeking.

Chief Superintendent Paul Brogden, from British Transport Police, said: "We're doing all we can to keep youngsters safe by patrolling areas where we know they're likely to trespass and prevent them from doing so.

"We're also putting posters and signs at hotspot locations to deter people from endangering their lives by going on the lines. However, we cover 10,000 miles of track and we cannot tackle this issue alone."