Train track TikTok danger selfies risk lives in Wales

A parent places a baby on the railway track in Harlech in Gwynedd to take a photo

Police and rail officials in Wales are warning of an alarming rise in "extremely dangerous" trackside selfies.

In one instance, a toddler was captured being placed on a level crossing for a picture.

Images and videos have been increasingly appearing on social media sites, as people pose on the rails.

Network Rail said there had been 433 serious incidents reported since the start of the Covid pandemic.

It has joined with British Transport Police and Transport for Wales (TfW) to launch a new campaign highlighting the dangers.

"No photograph is worth the risk to you or the consequences for your family," said Insp Richard Powell.

"Messing around on level crossings - including lingering to take photos - is illegal and extremely dangerous. You could be taken to court and face a £1,000 fine."

Posing for selfies on level crossings has become a social media craze

TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat

Rail officials said videos and pictures had attracted more than one million views on popular social media sites.

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Ronnie Gallagher, route level crossing manager at Network Rail, said the campaign was about encouraging "people in Wales to consider the true cost of taking a risk at a level crossing".

Not only is this dangerous, it is illegal - with up to £1,000 fines

Jody Donnelly, a TfW train driver, said she and many of her colleagues have had to deal with "hundreds of frightening and sometimes tragic occurrences at level crossings".

"People seem to think that the worst won't happen to them - but if you're caught short at a level crossing, it simply isn't true.

"Unlike cars, trains can take hundreds of metres to stop when travelling at top speed, meaning that a decision to nip across the tracks can be fatal."

"No photograph is worth the risk to you," say British Transport Police