POLICE have warned youngsters and their parents to be on their guard after a group of children narrowly avoided being hit by a train in Kidderminster.

Officers were called to the cricket ground in Chester Road after youths had thrown an object on to the nearby rail line.

When police arrived the children fled from the ground across the line and narrowly missed collision with an oncoming train at 7.30pm on Friday.

Kidderminster Police spokeswoman Caroline Schubert said: "We are extremely concerned children should consider crossing a railway line, regardless of obvious hazards.

"We are asking all parents who live anywhere in the vicinity of a railway line to speak to their children and give strong advice about the dangers of playing on or near railway lines."