MEDIA INVITATION: FOOTBALL, NO MESSIN’ AND WRESTLIN’ FOR KIDS AT NORTHFLEET FUN DAY

Wednesday 5 Jul 2006

MEDIA INVITATION: FOOTBALL, NO MESSIN’ AND WRESTLIN’ FOR KIDS AT NORTHFLEET FUN DAY

Region & Route:: | Southern

Date: Saturday 8 July 2006 Time: 12pm – 3pm Location: Lawn Primary School, High Street, Northfleet, DA11 9HB. Event: Journalists and photographers are invited to see youngsters wrestling railway crime head-on as Network Rail brings its No Messin’! campaign to Gravesham Borough Council’s Northfleet Community Safety Fun Day Young football and wrestling fans will be able to grapple with rail safety and kick railway crime into touch this weekend as Network Rail brings its No Messin’! campaign to the Northfleet Community Safety Fun Day. There will be a special No Messin’! marquee at the event where coaches from Charlton Athletic and the British Wrestling Association will be running football and wrestling sessions while spreading the No Messin’! safety message to local youngsters. The No Messin’! campaign aims to raise awareness among young people of the dangers of trespass and vandalism on the railway and to encourage them to get involved in more productive activities, like sports, instead of risking their lives on the railway. Network Rail’s Route Director Andrew Munden said: “Every year hundreds of people risk their lives by vandalising and trespassing on the railway and unfortunately Northfleet is a real problem area. The No Messin’! campaign is a great way for us to encourage young people to get involved in healthy activities, such as wrestling and football, instead of risking their lives on the railway so I hope lots of young people will come along and get involved.” Gravesham Borough Council said: “The council is delighted to be hosting this event, which will give youngsters both an afternoon of fun and great advice and information on how to stay safe.” The Northfleet Community Safety Fun Day has been organised by Gravesham Borough Council and will take place on Saturday 8 July from 12pm – 3pm.

Notes to editors

Northfleet is Kent’s worst ‘hot-spot’ for railway crime with more than 70 reported incidents so far this year, including: • Young people trespassing on the tracks • Objects including stones, logs and fencing posts being place on the line in front of trains • Young people throwing stones at trains • Trackside fencing being vandalised

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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