Bramley: Shocking CCTV footage shows child jump onto rail lines as train rolls into Leeds station
Shocking CCTV footage has showed the moment a child jumps in front of a train just as it rolls into a station in Leeds.
In the heart-pounding video, the youngster was chased onto the tracks of Bramley Station with a group of youths.
It then showed the child apparently pleading for his pals for help as a train pulled into the terminal.
Eventually the child - wearing a black raincoat and jogging bottoms - was able to clamber out of harm’s way, but later footage seemed to show the same child ripping up a plastic waste bag and throwing it on the line as the train waited to move forward.
Other CCTV showed another member of the group jumping onto the line after a train departed.
It comes as other clips, released by Network Rail, showed youths jumping on tracks and people pausing for pictures at Newton Aycliffe and Seaham, in Durham.
Network Rail has found trespass incidents are more frequent on its North and East Route during the summer months - with 70 per cent reported between April and September last year. It said these caused passengers to face nearly 12,000 minutes of delayed trains - equivalent to more than eight days.
Chloe Creffield, Network Rail’s community safety manager in the North and East, urged those tempted to jump on tracks to “remember the consequences”.
She said: “The railway is an incredibly dangerous place and people who trespass are putting themselves at risk and breaking the law.
“We urge people to remember the consequences of trespassing and the devastating impact it can have on themselves, their family, passengers and the wider community, and train drivers.
“Closing the railway while we investigate incidents of trespass disrupts lives and also causes costly delays for passengers.
“Ahead of the summer holidays, we hope the CCTV footage will remind the public to think of their own safety and see that trespassing on the railway can be life-threatening.”
Nationally, statistics have showed that an average of at least two people risk their lives on the railway every hour.
This summer, the rail industry has used the story of Harrison Ballantyne to educate people living in high-risk areas about the dangers of railway trespass. He lost his life at 11-years-old after straying onto the railway.