A level crossing near Goring-by-Sea in West Sussex has been temporarily closed by Network Rail ahead of a safety review because of the large numbers of people misusing it.

Video footage has captured children misusing the Clappers Lane level crossing and putting their lives in danger.

Incidents recorded have been people walking on the tracks, playing on the crossing, and a young person appearing to urinate on the line where trains pass through at up to 70 mph. They have all been reported to British Transport Police (BTP).

Measures put in place to tackle the problem included extra signage, CCTV cameras, and holding educational events, but the latest incidents have prompted Network Rail to close the crossing temporarily until further measures to improve safety at the crossing have been installed to deter further incidents of misuse.

Since 2019, there have been 22 incidents at the crossing, including four incidents in January:

• On 6th January, a person walked across the track in front of the train. Although the train was travelling slowly, they were clearly unaware of the danger.
• On 12th January, a train driver reported a near miss with a person who crossed the line as the train approached and missed them by seconds.
• On 13th January, a train driver witnessed a person crossing with a bike as the train approached and missed them by seconds.
• On 14th January, a Network Rail signaller witnessed someone running across the level crossing when a train was just moments from passing through.

Last week, Network Rail launched a hard-hitting campaign highlighting that over 55% of people in the South East are unaware of the existence of the electric rail.

To increase public awareness about the dangers at Level crossings, Network Rail staff attended Cruft’s Dog Show earlier this year to hand out leaflets. At Abergele in North Wales, Network Rail is replacing two level crossings with footbridges.

“We take seriously our responsibility to educate people on using the railway safely. We’ve already spoken to local schools about the dangers of not using this level crossing properly, because we need to get the message out there that level crossings just aren’t safe places to play or mess around on. The risk of being electrocuted is much greater than you may think, and so we’re urgently getting the message out to children and their parents that there is a risk to life. We re hoping to install warning lights (known as miniature stop lights) at the crossing to give people more confidence in using the crossing, but there are concerns that these lights will not stop deliberate misuse and dangerous behaviours already captured by CCTV and therefore, we may need to take firmer action.”

Stuart Tautz, Operations Risk Advisor for Network Rail