A seven year old boy and his grandmother were killed while using a pedestrian-only railway crossing in Nottinghamshire.
Mrs Hoggart and her grandson, Mikey Dawson, were struck by a train traveling at 60mph as they crossed over the line in the dark on the evening of Saturday 22nd November 2008.
The crossing, which links Bestwood village with the nearby town of Hucknall, has been condemned as dangerous by local people who have been campaigning for some time for safety improvements to be carried out.
An initial inspection made by Network Rail has not found “any problems or issues with the crossing itself” saying that the incident appeared to have been “a tragic accident”. However, Sherwood MP Paddy Tipping said that he and his constituents had been raising concerns over the crossing for some time. “There are no warning signs that a train is coming, there are big gaps by the rails and it is very slippery”.
“There will be a full inquiry by the railway inspectorate and we will have to wait and see what the results are, but clearly there’s a problem here that’s led to very serious consequences”.
Chris Barron, a local county councilor, said that the pedestrian-only crossing had been an accident waiting to happen and wants gates installed that automatically lock when a train approaches. He said “The crossing is very badly lit and on a bit of a dog-leg, so you can’t even see where you are going when it is dark. It’s absolutely atrocious”.
“There will be discussions between public bodies about who should be supplying the lights and who has to pay for the work but all we are bothered about is that people can get across safely”. Network Rail said that officials would be carrying out a “full investigation” and if any changes were recommended would carry them out.
A spokesman for the company said “If we were to rebuild the entire railway network from scratch then we wouldn’t have any level crossings on the railway because of the risk associated with them but they are safe if used correctly”.
British Transport Police, who are working together with Nottinghamshire Police on investigating the circumstances of the accident, said there were no suspicious circumstances.
