Two teenagers seriously injured after 'playing' by railway lines in Wednesbury

The victims – aged 12 and 13 – had been on the tracks when they recieved electrical burns.

The seriously injured boy was flown to hospital by air ambulance after the incident next to Durham Road in Wednesbury, not far from Bescot depot.

Jacqueline Wilson, acting inspector with British Transport Police, said: “We were called to an incident at Bescot depot.

“When we arrived it was two young boys, 12 and 13, that had been injured they’d been on the railway and they had received an electrical burn.

“They were being dealt with by paramedics and the air ambulance was in place.

Hospital

“There were three boys in total that we know had been on the lines and one of those pointed out and told us what the incident was.

“The two boys that were injured, one was seriously injured. They are both at hospital with their parents.

“There’s a full investigation on-going, all I would like to say is that it is the school holidays it’s always a time where we have increased trespassers and children are fascinated by the railway but we’ve got to remember it’s real wires it’s real trains and it’s not a playground.

“We can’t fence every inch of the railway off. It gets damaged by people daily wanting to take shortcuts. We’re just getting across to them how dangerous it can be.

“It’s devastating for the community and for officers that’re dealing with children and the paramedics and all the emergency services.”

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said the two injured boys were taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, one by air ambulance, the other by road after the incident at around 11.45am yesterday. The spokesman said the teenager who had been airlifted was in a ‘critical condition’. Train operator London Midland said all lines between Bescot Stadium and Tame Bridge Station were blocked after the incident.

Network rail say journeys between Birmingham New Street and Walsall were disrupted while the service recovered. There were expected delays of up to 25 minutes and cancelled services. A normal service resumed around 3.30pm. One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “The police told us that they were playing with a stick and touched a live wire. A lot of the kids go over and mess around there because there’s a gap in the fence.” Another resident said: “Loads of neighbours came outside. The helicopter landed on the grass and we saw one boy put into the ambulance with leg and arm burns and the other had burns to his face and was airlifted.

“We’ve lived here for around 10 years but don’t think anything as serious as this has happened on the train tracks.”