Nine year old vandals throw stones at trains

It's earned Ore on the Hastings to Ashford line the title of one of the top railway crime hotspots in the whole of the Kent area.

The vandals, aged from nine to 14, have waged a dangerous war on the railway hurling stones at trains and smashing signal lenses on the railway line.

There were 11 incidents of stone throwing at trains and signals in the two weeks up to Friday on the stretch of track which is known as the Marsh Link.

But the kids are putting themselves in danger as well as causing damage which could lead to a major incident with lives lost.

"Children who trespass on the line for criminal purposes generally end up dead," was the stark warning from Network Rail's Margaret

Baker this week.

She said: "We are working hard to prevent these unnecessary fatalities.

"We have put on additional patrols of Network Rail field staff and British Transport police and have put additional officers in the Ore area. it is a high risk area."

The station at Ore is unmanned and both the station and the line towards Ashford are secluded and Margaret said: "When a station is not manned we have a social responsibility to take additional precautions. We are working to rebuild the rail environment and make sure the boundaries are strengthened."

She explained that the signal which was smashed merely warned train drivers of the status and distance of the next signal so no trains had been put in danger by that practice.

"However the damage has to be repaired, wasting valuable railway funding and trains are cautioned, causing delays to services while the signal is damaged," said Margaret.

The signals are repaired within hours.