Friend tells of girl's rail death

Terri Owen and Kayleigh White used to cross the track together

The best friend of a 12-year-old girl electrocuted on a Kent railway line has spoken about the death in the hope of preventing similar tragedies.

Terri Owen, 13, of Margate, said both girls often crossed the railway line, sometimes to check the timetable.

Kayleigh White died after slipping and falling on to a live rail at Broadstairs station on Sunday.

Terri said her loss had finally made her see the dangers, which she said people often did not take seriously.

"She was a nice person - she was fun to be around," she said.

"We used to cross the tracks to see what time the train was coming.

"We couldn't be bothered to walk over the bridge.

"We had heard they can kill you because they have got so many volts.

I wish I had been there and could have stopped her and said 'don't do it - if you do it think about other people first and the way they are going to feel' Terri Owen

"We knew not to stand on the tracks and to be careful.

"It just felt normal, we used to do it so much."

She said she found out what had happened after a phone call to Kayleigh's foster carer, who asked to speak to Terri's father.

"My dad told me," Terri said.

"I burst into tears.

"I'm never going to do it again.

"She was always so cheerful and hardly ever upset.

"I wish I had been there and could have stopped her and said 'don't do it - if you do it think about other people first and the way they are going to feel'."

Kayleigh was with a group of friends when she fell on to the 750-volt conductor rail - police are not treating the death as suspicious.