West Mercia Police have confirmed that a train ‘narrowly avoided’ hitting two children who were playing on railway tracks near Knighton on Sunday afternoon.
The incident forced the train driver to apply the emergency brake which triggered an emergency response from multiple forces.
A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said:
“On Sunday 8th September at 2.40pm an emergency call was received from a train driver of a 3 carriage Transport for Wales train that had been involved in a near miss with two children on the Heart of Wales line near Knighton.
“The location was given as the Offa’s Dyke path crossing in the Panpunton area.
“The train had to apply the emergency brake and this caused the train to have to stop and the alarm was raised.
“This triggered an emergency response from three police forces, West Mercia Police, Dyfed-Powys Police due to the incident being on the border of both forces and British Transport Police who have responsibility for the railways.
“A thorough search of the area was carried out but the children had gone.
“The driver of the train described the incident as one playing ‘chicken’ with a moving train as they were stood in the centre of the train tracks and only moved at the very last moment.
“PC Stuart Coote from Bishops Castle Police is making a plea to children who use the foot crossing not to undertake such dangerous activities and to think of the dire consequences of such actions, putting themselves in extreme danger as well as those on the train.”
