POLICE have welcomed a move by East Lancashire rail chiefs to fence off danger spots where vandals and trespassers have been putting lives on the line.

The move by Railtrack comes after a shocking catalogue of incidents where children as young as four have been found playing on tracks and hundreds of football fans have been spotted taking short cuts across busy rail lines.

Trouble spots at Gannow Junction, Burnley and the area near the Manxman Hotel, in Blackburn, are being cordoned off with heavy duty fencing to keep vandals out.

The move follows a successful project in Church which cut vandalism and trespassing dramatically after an area of track near Grimshaw Street was fenced off in January.

Rail police are stepping up patrols during the summer holidays to help stop schoolchildren putting themselves and others in danger. Officers are now reporting all offenders to the Crown Prosecution Service to show they mean business.

Inspector Steve Ingham, of British Transport Police, said: "Gannow Junction has been such a bad area for so many years and Railtrack finally decided to do something about it. "There were young vandals and kids playing on the line, but also adults using the line as a short cut.

"I am also glad to see new fencing going up near the Manxman Hotel, Blackburn. The area is close to the football ground at Ewood and I have seen up to 200 people at a time crossing the line there on match days.

"We were getting a lot of things thrown on the line and at trains there. There is about two miles of fencing going up, which we hope will improve things."

In April a train had to stop when children aged four and five were found playing on the line near Gannow Junction. They were taken to Burnley Central Station and then returned to their homes, where their parents were given a grilling by transport police.

And last September a train driver approaching the same spot spotted a seven-year-old child placing his head on the rail line in an horrific prank.

The driver jumped out of his cab and caught three children - two seven-year-olds and a six-year-old - who were playing on the line

In another incident vandals caused £16,000-worth of damage to a train when it collided with a large object left on the line near Rosegrove station.

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