POLICE say a man diced with death by jumping on to a railway line to get his football at Pallion Metro station in Sunderland. 

The incident, which happened on Sunday November 11, is one of a spate of railway trespassings in the area.

PC Graham Marshall, of British Transport Police, said: “In this case the man risks his life to retrieve a football, it’s crazy.

“We have undertaken extensive enquiries to trace this man to speak to him about this dangerous behaviour.

"The railway is an inherently dangerous environment, with regular trains running on the tracks and electric currents.

“This man was extremely lucky that a train was not passing through Pallion station at the time of the incident or the consequences could have been unthinkable.

“We regularly see people dropping things onto the tracks at stations and climbing down to retrieve them.

“I hope this warning makes people think twice about risking your life in this way for the sake of replaceable belongings?”

Anyone with information about this or other railway trespass incidents should call British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 405040 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.