A HOLE in a wall that keeps children off a railway line was still not mended six days after Railtrack promised to mend it 'immediately.'

The company said it was 'chasing up' contractors after a second intervention from the Citizen this week.

The wall, on Spring Hill Road near Burnley Manchester Road station, was damaged by a car more than a week ago.

A large gap in the concrete barrier made it easy for someone to walk down to the track.

Ward councillor Marcus Johnstone wrote to Railtrack, warning: "The urgency for repair work is particularly great because during the school holidays there are many more children around than usual and I know that my constituents living in the Healey Wood district are deeply concerned."

Mr Johnstone said repairs were needed "before it is too late and a child strays on to the railway with potentially tragic consequences."

A Railtrack spokeswoman said they were not making excuses for the delay but explained: "The contractors have been informed and should have carried out the work. We are chasing them up."

She said the work came into the rapid response category, which meant that, because of the safety issue, the repair should be complete within 24 hours.

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