ONLY one in 17 people who trespass on railways tracks are prosecuted by police, shocking figures reveal.

Last night, the news prompted rail bosses to call for harsher penalties for offenders.

The figures, obtained from the Department for Transport, reveal there have been almost 60,000 trespass incidents in England and Wales in the past five years, but only 3,360 prosecutions -a rate of less than six per cent.

Last night, Chief Inspector Bob Kenwrick, of the British Transport Police, said it was difficult to catch trespassers and said heavier fines should be given by the courts.

The figures were obtained by Darlington MP Alan Milburn, and follow a campaign that has been launched by The Northern Echo.

The No Messin' campaign aims to highlight the dangers of railway crime and promote positive activities for young people in the North.

It follows the deaths of teenagers Stuart Adams, 15, and Lee Mullis, 14, who died on Good Friday while on train tracks at the Five Arches Bridge, in Darlington.

Last year, Darlington had the most rail vandalism in the country, and was one of the worst places for trespassing.

In the past five years, more than 1,200 people have died on railways in England and Wales.

Although three quarters of the deaths were suicides, 250 were trespassers who had no intention of getting hurt.

The figures do not include those who have been maimed, disabled or lost limbs on the lines.

Last night, Mr Milburn said he would write to transport police to ask why more people were not prosecuted.

He said: "Improving safety on Britain's railways and educating youngsters about the dangers of trespass is important; equally a clear message needs to be sent by the authorities that trespass is a serious offence. On the face of it, the low level of prosecutions does not send a tough enough message."

Chief Insp Kenwrick said: "The difficulty is catching them, but trespassing is one of the most dangerous things you can do. If a train hits you, you are dead.

"It also affects the driver and the passengers.

"A prosecution rate of one in 17 is low, it would be better if it was 17 out of 17."

He said he would like harsher penalties, including heavy fines for adults, and would like youths who trespass to spend time working in the industry.

Network Rail spokeswoman Carolyn Watson said: "We would support sentencing which reflects the seriousness of the crime.

"People who trespass on the railway are risking not only their own lives, but also the lives of passengers. There were 192 cases of trespassing on the two major rail lines in this region last year - each a potential tragedy."

* The Northern Echo's No Messin' supplement is published tomorrow. It lists scores of summer activities for youngsters in the region.