Harrison Ballantyne: Mum of electrocuted boy in railway danger plea

Harrison Ballantyne died in June 2017, after entering Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal to retrieve a football

The family of an 11-year-old boy electrocuted at a rail depot six years ago have urged parents to teach children about rail safety.

Harrison Ballantyne died on 27 June 2017 after entering Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal to retrieve a football.

Police figures show railway trespassing is above pre-pandemic levels.

Harrison's mother, Liz Ballantyne, said she learnt the importance of teaching rail safety "too late".

She is urging parents and carers to talk to children about railway dangers before the school holidays so they "know how to keep themselves safe".

"I always encouraged Harrison to go out and have adventures," she said.

"I taught him about stranger danger and to be careful around water, but I just hadn't realised that I needed to teach him about rail safety as there was no railway station near our village.

"I learnt of its importance too late, but I don't want others to suffer as I have."

Harrison, from Crick, in Northamptonshire, died at the rail freight depot after he climbed on to a stationary freight wagon and received a fatal electric shock from an overhead cable, despite not touching it.

He was hit by 25,000 volts of electricity.

His death was made into a short film which highlighted how electricity can jump, endangering people even if they do not touch its source.

The short film Harrison's Story features an actor playing Harrison, who lists a series of events he "didn't expect to be my last..."

British Transport Police (BTP) figures show 18,517 trespass incidents on railway land in the 2022-23 financial year - 14% higher than the number in 2019-20.

A fifth of reported incidents involve children.

Louise McNally, from Network Rail, said what happened to Harrison was a "powerful reminder of the devastating impact that trespass can have" to the trespasser, their loved ones and the community.

"It is important that we share his story and learn lessons from it so that we can ensure that another family does not suffer as the Ballantynes have," she said.

Supt Alison Evans from the BTP said the rail network "can be a deadly place".

"Trespassing can result in devastating injuries or death," she said.

"Please spread the word to stay off the tracks - it could just save a life."

W H Malcolm Limited, the operator of the rail freight depot, was found guilty of health and safety failings at Northampton Crown Court in 2021 and fined £6.5m.