WARNINGS have been issued after reports of schoolchildren risking their lives playing on train tracks.

An eyewitness reported seeing two boys playing ‘a very dangerous game’ at Askam station.

“One of them got onto the tracks from the platform when the gates were down and a freight train approaching,” said a post on a local Facebook community group.

“He climbed back out of the way with just seconds to spare. They then ran off down Duddon Road. This could very easily have resulted in this child’s death. Please check if this could have been your child and make them aware of the extreme danger they put themselves into. This could so easily have ended in tragedy.”

The British Transport Police said it was not aware of the incident but wanted to highlight the danger train tracks pose and urge parents to keep young people away from the lines.

They said: “Many young people look at the railway as an exciting place to be, but the absolute opposite is true. The rail network operates 24 hours a day with modern trains capable of travelling almost silently at speeds of up to 125mph, and keeping to one side of the track will not keep you safe as trains are wider than their rails.

“Parts of the network are electrified with 25,000 volts of electricity – the power running through overhead railway lines are 100 times stronger than your supply at home, and the electricity can jump so you don’t even need to touch a cable to be seriously injured. The electrified third rail looks like an ordinary rail, but it carries enough electricity to leave you with life-changing injuries or even kill you.

“All of these aspects make for an extremely dangerous environment that can easily leave people with devastating life-changing injuries or even result in death, and we urge parents and carers to have conversations with their loved ones about the dangers of playing or trespassing on the railway lines.”

The British Transport Police is running a shared campaign with Network Rail to educate people about the dangers of interacting with trainlines.

The campaign is called You vs. Train, it warns of the consequences trespassing on trainlines can have and includes stories from those who have lost loved ones, as well as a quiz where people can put their knowledge to the test.