School children in east Durham are being taught the dangers of playing on railway lines - just weeks after two teenagers were killed after being hit by a train.

Stuart Adams and Lee Mullis were killed instantly on Good Friday when they wwere struck by a train travelling from Manchester AIRPORT TO Newcastle.

The pair had been seen on the east coast main route seconds before the incident, which happened near the Five Arches bridge in Darlington. Following in the wake of the tragedy 1300 year six pupils at schools across the District of Easington are attending an annual safety carousel.

Now in its tenth year the carousel has been organised by the police and other agencies and consists of a series of safety workshops. Each last around 15 minutes each and cover issues such as fire safety and first aid as well as the dangers posed by railway lines and stretches of water.

The event is being staged at the community safety unit in the fire station on Shotton Road on the outskirts of Peterlee.

The children, all aged ten and 11, will each take part in a quiz at the end of each day to see how much they had remembered they will also be given pamphlets and other mementoes of the day relating to the different topics.

All of those taking part will also be invited to enter a poster competition which will be judged later in the year.

Principal funding for the project has again come from the District of Easington Community Safety Partnership and County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service.

"Since we started in 1996 around 15,000 children have gone on the safety carousel,'' said its organiser and Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator Anne Ward.

"While we can never totally prevent tragedies like the one in Darlington this Easter, we must to all we can to ensure as many youngsters as possible know what dangers are out there and how they can minimise the risk to themselves,'' said Anne.

The carousel will run until April 22.