Network Rail fined £135,000 over fence which led to serious burns for boy, 13

The fence, next to a well-used public path, was deemed to be 'substandard and poorly maintained'

Network Rail has been fined £135,000 for failing to maintain railway fencing in East Lothian which led to a 13-year-old boy receiving serious injuries.

A group of teenagers entered a gap in the fence on the track near Queen Margaret University, close to Musselburgh station, on 19 August 2016.

The boy climbed on to the roof of a freight train stopped at some signals.

He came close to the 25,000-volt overhead cable and received an electric shock that caused serious burns.

• Network Rail fined after allowing trains over damaged Lamington Viaduct

Network Rail was given the penalty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said.

The government-owned company, responsible for Britain's rail infrastructure, was prosecuted following an investigation by the ORR - the rail regulator.

The investigation revealed that although there was clear evidence of trespass and graffiti in the area, the fence provided by Network Rail was substandard and poorly maintained, making unauthorised access to the railway straightforward.

'Extremely dangerous environment'

A well-used public footpath runs parallel to the railway line, which runs from the East Coast Main Line at Monktonhall Junction towards Millerhill.

HM Chief Inspector of Railways Ian Prosser said: "Network Rail has done a lot of work to limit the number of trespass issues on the railway and raise awareness of the potential life-threatening dangers that can follow.

"But on this occasion it failed to maintain an adequate boundary to stop people getting onto the railway track and preventing an incident like this occurring.

"The railway is an extremely dangerous environment and I would urge parents to talk to their children about its hazards and remind them to stay away from the tracks."

In November, Network Rail was fined £10,000 for allowing trains to travel at more than 100mph over a storm-damaged viaduct on the West Coast Main Line.

Network Rail have been contacted for comment.