Railway trespass hot spots named

Children are responsible for the majority of railway crime

Birmingham and Hereford have been named as two of the worst 10 areas in the UK for trespassing on railways.

The hot spots have been identified as part of National Railway Crime Week, which aims to highlight the dangers of trespass and vandalism.

Sixty people died while trespassing on the railways across the UK last year, a figure which does not include suicides.

The industry says 90% of crime on the railways is carried out by children, at a total cost of about £260m each year.

A range of activities are being held this week, including sessions at Birmingham New Street station to educate passengers about crime on the railways.

We must make young people sit up and take notice of the foolishness of using the railway as a playground Iain Coucher of Network Rail

Tens of thousands of leaflets are also being delivered to homes in the areas which have been identified as rail crime hot spots.

Figures released earlier this month by the Rail Safety and Standards Board show progress in the area of vandalism though - such crime fell in 2003 for the third year running.

Network Rail's deputy chief executive Iain Coucher said: "We must make young people sit up and take notice of the dangers and foolishness of using the railway as a playground.

"The consequences can be harsh, from being frog-marched home by the police to face angry parents, to hefty fines, imprisonment and possibly even serious injury and death.

"The school summer break is peak crime-time for the railways and we ask all schools and parents to use this National Railway Crime Week to hammer home the message to their young people - keep off the tracks and stay alive."