Media centre

Monday 13 Jun 2005

MEDIA INVITATION: CHRIS KNOWS THERE IS NO MESSIN’! ON THE RAILWAY

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Date:                           14 June 2005 Time:                          9 am Location:                    Marden High School, Hartington Rd, Cullercoats,                                              North Shields, NE30 3RZ Event:                         Patrick Miller, who plays Akili Johnson in Byker Grove, and Ben Smith, Newcastle Utd Academy goalkeeper will present Chris Anastasi with an iPod mini Media contact:          Carolyn Watson, 01904 522825        Chris Anastasi, a 12 year old pupil at Marden High School, is celebrating after he won a national health and safety competition on Network Rail’s No Messin’! website - www.no-messin.com. Chris will be presented with his prize, an iPod mini, by Byker Grove actor Patrick Miller and Newcastle United Academy goalkeeper Ben Smith, after he successfully demonstrated his exceptional knowledge of railway safety in the online competition. As part of an ongoing educational programme, after the presentation, pupils from year eight will take part in a railway safety workshop run by Nexus and Network Rail. The website was launched in March as part of the No Messin’! campaign.  The campaign is aimed at nine – 16 year olds and is stylised to fit into today’s popular culture.  Rather than telling children what not to do, the campaign suggests alternatives to messing about on the tracks. Dyan Crowther, Route Director, Network Rail said: “We are delighted that Chris has won the No Messin’! competition.  He knows the rules to keeping himself safe and healthy and that is really important for young people today. “Every year children are killed and injured on our railways.  Each one is a tragic story of ignoring the rules for staying safe and staying alive.” Andy Lee, Head of Media and External Relations at Nexus, said: “Safety on the Tyne and Wear Metro is paramount to Nexus and we invest every year in delivering a safety first message to school children across the conurbation. “Initiatives like No Messin’! are instrumental in hammering that safety message home.”