What was her loco motive? Woman lies on rail tracks for friend’s photo
A WOMAN lies across railway tracks while her friend takes her picture, both seemingly oblivious to the fact that trains regularly thunder past at 70mph.
The potentially fatal incident, captured on CCTV, was described by police as ‘unthinkably stupid’.
The footage shows the pair spending just under a minute near the tracks preparing for their stunt at the Tidemills level crossing near Seaford, East Sussex, on Monday. It was the 17th incident recorded there in the past nine months, with 15 near misses.
It comes a week after a video was posted on social media showing a car parked across tracks at a level crossing in Bolton as a backdrop for a photo. Rail chiefs said it ‘staggeringly stupid and dangerous’ behaviour.
The spate of incidents at Tidemills is in sharp contrast to 2019, when only four were recorded. Others in the past nine months include near misses with cyclists and pedestrians rushing to beat approaching trains.
Tracy Partridge, of Network Rail, said: ‘We cannot stress enough the danger that people are placing themselves in when they don’t use a crossing safely.
‘A split-second decision can have life- changing consequences, not only for those involved, but also for their family and friends, train drivers and railway workers.’
British Transport Police Inspector Jonathan Pine said: ‘This is unthinkably stupid behaviour by two women clearly oblivious to the dangers of level crossings.
‘They could easily have been moments away from a catastrophic incident. No photo opportunity is worth risking your life for.’
Plans for a footbridge to replace the crossing have been approved.