Terror on the tracks

Police say the problem is worst at the King George V playing fields in Brickfields, where children have been spotted dropping objects on to trains.

Patrols have been stepped up in the area, but operator Central Trains says it is at a loss to stop the problem.

On Thursday, passengers on a service from Birmingham spotted children throwing stones as the train waited to approach Foregate Street station.

"You can see the kids above throwing stones at it," said 28-year-old University College Worcester student Katerine Shorrock. "It happened when I was on the train last week. It's pretty terrifying when you think they could smash the windows."

PC Trevor Bromwell, of the British Transport Police, said the Easter holiday period had been "a nightmare" for officers.

"We've had numerous reports of children throwing stones and placing objects on the line and Brickfields in Worcester has been particularly bad," he said.

"I'd say in the last 10 days, we've had eight to 10 offences reported each day for each of the major locations, and that includes Worcester."

On the Birmingham to Worcester line, concrete cases used for holding cables and shopping trolleys were among objects found on the tracks during the past fortnight.

Children have also been spotted playing on the line at Malvern and Droitwich.

PC Bromwell said foot patrols along the railway near the King George V playing fields had been stepped up, and other prevention initiatives included visiting schools to warn parents and pupils of the dangers of playing on the line.

Central Trains spokesman Gerard Burgess said: "Obviously, the most serious issue is that someone could get killed, but these incidents will lead to hundreds of minutes of delays.

"The drivers are also under severe stress watching out for objects or people on the line.

"British Transport Police patrol the line but, with the best will in the world, they can't cover every part and we can't isolate it."