Coroner backs No Messin' campaign

It was launched in conjunction with Network Rail to highlight the dangers of rail crime while promoting positive activities for young people after the deaths of Stuart Adams and Lee Mullis.

It later emerged Darlington was the worst place in the country for rail vandalism last year and one of the worst for trespassing.

Last Saturday, The Northern Echo published its No Messin' supplement, which lists activities for young people in the North-East and North Yorkshire. A column will also appear each week highlighting activities during the holidays.

At the inquest, Mr Tweddle, who was holding a copy of the supplement, said: "Just this weekend this was in The Northern Echo. I would like to take this opportunity to reinforce the message. I would like to encourage the papers to highlight the dangers of children playing and messing around on the railway because it is dangerous and death is a likely outcome.

"I would like the papers to continue to make this issue a real issue so the dangers can be unequivocally clear in the hope that neither myself nor my coroner colleagues up and down the country have cause to preside over another inquest of this nature."

The supplement can be downloaded at www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk