Girl electrocuted on railway

The girl was reported to be playing with other children on the line

A 10-year-old girl has died after stepping on a live rail while apparently playing on the tracks.

Sophie Storey had been playing conkers with her twin brother and another boy when she stepped on the line.

Police said she was found on the line with severe burns and pronounced dead when she arrived at hospital.

Emergency services were called to Moor Lane level crossing in Staines, Surrey, just before 1820 BST on Wednesday.

All trains on the Staines to Windsor branch line were immediately suspended and power cut off, affecting South West Trains services from Waterloo.

It is a stark reminder of just how dangerous railway lines can be South West Trains spokeswoman

Four men who were drinking in a nearby pub tried to help after another child ran into the pub and told them what had happened.

Another one of the children Sophie was playing with ran home to tell her parents.

Karl Lutz, one of the men in the pub, said: "We were sitting having a drink and a young girl came running across to say there was someone actually on the railway line.

"A friend of mine actually pulled her off, which was very brave, I told him not to."

Sophie, who was from the Staines area, was taken to St Peter's Hospital in Chertsey.

Flowers were left at the scene, next to a sign warning of the dangers

"She was found on the line with severe burns and was taken to hospital, where she was pronounced dead," a British Transport Police spokesman said.

The crossing where the incident happened had gates designed to stop public access which police said had been tested and were working properly.

They said the incident was not being treated as suspicious.

Detective Inspector Alan Jenkinson of the British Transport Police said: "Any death is tragic, but particularly when it's a 10-year-old girl in such circumstances.

"There are thousands of similar crossings up and down the country which are used every day quite safely.

"They are adequately signed and marked but clearly I can say that my investigation will be looking at this particular crossing.

"If there are failings discovered, then we will address those issues."

A spokeswoman for South West Trains said services had been disrupted for up to an hour on the Staines to Windsor and Eton Riverside branch line and between Egham and Ascot.

She said: "We would like to offer our sympathy to the girl's family after this accident.

"It is a stark reminder of just how dangerous railway lines can be."

A spokeswoman for Surrey Ambulance said paramedics had tried to resuscitate the 10-year-old on the way to hospital.