Warning as rail trespass incidents in Wales on the rise

A warning has been issued after figures showed rail trespass incidents in Wales have risen.

British Transport Police said there had been a 19% rise, from 108 incidents in 2014 to 128 last year.

The organisation said longer evenings and the summer holidays "spell danger" for young people, who are twice as likely to trespass this time of year than in winter.

Almost 170 young people have died in 10 years in the UK after trespassing.

Lynsey Slawson's sister Victoria Swift was killed by a train in Wrexham when she was 14.

She told BBC News: "I think a lot more needs doing because you're seeing it all the time.

"Kids need to realise it's not a place to be playing, at all.

"They think 'we've got time', they don't realise it's not like a car. They can't slam the brakes on like a car, it takes time for the train to stop.

"On that patch [where Victoria was killed] there's a bend, trains come round there, she's gone to run but it's too late. By the time she's realised it's there, it's there."

Tracey Young, of Network Rail Wales, said: "We are urging parents to remind their children that if they are on the railway, they are on dangerous ground.

"It may seem like a good idea to take a shortcut, or like fun to play on the tracks, but this is not only illegal, it is also dangerous.

Of those who died in the past decade, 72% were hit by a train, 17% were electrocuted and others fell from structures or trains.