Wednesday 6 Aug 2008
COVENTRY GETS THE NO MESSIN’! MESSAGE
- Region & Route:
Over a thousand young people aged 9 – 16 packed out the Alan Higgs Centre in Coventry, one the top hotspots in Britain for railway crime, today (6th August).
The young people were trying their hands at free activities like kick-boxing, urban dance, and motor-biking and received an important message regarding track-safety as part of Network Rail’s No Messin’ Live!
The award-winning No Messin’ Live! campaign aims to keep young people off the railway lines and help save lives. Up to 60 people a year are killed messing around on the tracks and Network Rail’s campaign introduces them to exciting alternative activities.
Network Rail reports that in the last year over one thousand incidents of trespass and vandalism have been recorded on the railway in the Midlands. Coventry, Willenhall, Birmingham New Street, Bloxwich, and Coseley are the most affected stations.
Martin Gallagher, who heads up the No Messin’ campaign said, “Sadly the combination of good weather and school holidays always results in an increase of trespass and vandalism on the railways by young people. The main reason for this is boredom and we aim to show them that there are better things to do than messing around on the railway”.
The free activities, which ran from 12.00 until 16.00 included:
Urban/Street Dance
Football and American Football
Basketball
Motorbikes
Kick boxing machine
In-line skating
Football free-styling
Wrestling
Boxing
DJ-ing
Climbing wall
Drama Production
Prizes included Nintendo Wii, Ipod Shuffle, a Nintendo ds lite, and much more!
There is another chance for young people to take advantage of these free activities and receive the No Messin’ message tomorrow at the same place and time.
A special You Tube-based video challenge has been launched on www.no-messin.com, Network Rail’s community safety website. It gets the nation’s kids to show off skills they’ve learnt from Britain’s no.1 football free-styler Colin Nell at the No Messin’ events. The web competition challenges young people to watch Colin’s impressive feet juggling skills and post videos of their attempts on You Tube to share with the world. A new challenge will be uploaded each month for the kids to master.
Boxing legend Amir Khan who launched the No Messin’ Live! events that are taking place across the country this summer. He said, “It’s really important to give kids a chance to do something positive with their spare time. It’s great to support an initiative like No Messin’, which is a free opportunity for them to focus on something worthwhile rather than risking their lives on the train tracks. I have been boxing since the age of 11 and it has allowed me to remain focused and put my energy into something that I could make a career out of”.
Inspector Glen Anderson of British Transport Police said, “The railway is not a playground and is an extremely dangerous environment. The reality is that trains travel at speeds of up to 100mph and can’t swerve miss someone in their path. People who trespass or commit crime on the railway are putting their own lives at risk as well as the lives of all the staff and passengers travelling on trains. Anyone who is caught trespassing can face a maximum £1000 fine”.
Notes to editors
Crimes committed on the railways include: Trespass Stone throwing Putting objects on the line Graffiti Theft Dozens of people are killed or seriously injured on the railway every year by mucking about on the tracks. In the past year more than 1000 incidents of trespass or vandalism have been recorded on the railway in the Midlands. The worst ten affected areas are listed below: Top 5 hotspots in the West Midlands: 1. Coventry 2. Willenhall 3. Birmingham New Street 4. Bloxwich 5. Coseley National Top 10 Hotspots 1. Leeds 2. Coventry 3. Willenhall 4. Edinburgh Waverley 5. Darlington 6. Newton (Scotland) 7. Swindon 8. Weston-super-Mare 9. Moston 10. Castleford Putting objects on the tracks (like rocks or shopping trolleys) could cause a train accident which may hurt or kill other people. If you do this, you can be prosecuted by the police. The maximum penalty for causing a train accident is life imprisonment. If a child is charged with causing a train accident, then apparent/guardian may be prosecuted by the police too. Graffiti is also a serious crime which can result in a prison sentence. If you are caught trespassing or vandalising on the railway, then you will be prosecuted by the police. No Messin’ recently won the prestigious Business in the Community BUPA Healthy Communities Award. The award, which is supported by the Department of Health and known as the ‘Big Tick’, recognises companies that work with voluntary and public sectors to improve the health and well-being of UK communities. Network Rail has a team of ten rail crime education managers that work across the UK in conjunction with a range of community agencies and organisations including youth offending services; independent community, sports and youth groups; British Transport Police and local police; train operating companies, premiership and football league clubs, and schools to try and prevent crime by spreading awareness of the dangers of trespass on the railway and the consequences of vandalism and other crimes. It also works with these groups to encourage and involve young people in healthier and more purposeful activities including sports, music art and dance.
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