Police release shocking footage of trespassers narrowly avoiding death on train tracks

Hatty Collier
Updated

Police have released shocking footage of people narrowly avoiding death on train tracks as new figures revealed trespassing on Britain’s railways has reached an all-time high.

The CCTV footage shows a number of trespassers involved in near misses with speeding trains at locations across the UK.

An average of one person trespasses on the tracks every hour in the country, according to Network Rail and British Transport Police.

Some are thrill-seekers, while others step onto the tracks purely to take a shortcut.

Trespass incidents: Police said some trespassers are thrill-seekers while others do it to take a shortcut (PA)
Trespass incidents: Police said some trespassers are thrill-seekers while others do it to take a shortcut (PA)

Last year, there were 8,265 such incidents, up 11 per cent on 2015 and the highest amount since current records began in 2007.

Some 115 offenders have been killed over the past five years, with just under half younger than 25.

Trespassing incidents involving youths double during spring and summer compared with winter.

Network Rail's head of public and passenger safety, Allan Spence, said: "Every April we see a huge rise in the number of people taking a risk on the rail network and it's worrying that these numbers seem to be going up.

A trespasser makes it onto the platform as a train passes by (PA)
A trespasser makes it onto the platform as a train passes by (PA)

"Britain has the safest railway in Europe but still too many people lose their lives on the tracks.

"The dangers may not always be obvious but the electricity on the railway is always on and trains can travel up to 125mph, so even if they see you, they can't stop in time."

Simon Munn, a wheelchair basketball player who represented Britain at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics, lost his leg in a railway accident when he was 22.

He was walking home from a pub and trespassed on the railway to avoid taking an extra five minutes to reach a crossing.

Police said one person steps onto the tracks every hour (PA)
Police said one person steps onto the tracks every hour (PA)

"As I crossed the track I got my foot caught. I don't know how long I was there, but I heard the train coming. I couldn't move.

"Trains moving that fast can't stop in time to miss you and they can't swerve. It's too late by then. I spent the next few weeks in hospital and had to have my leg amputated.

"Now I really know what the cost of trespassing and taking short cuts can be. I was lucky it wasn't my life."