A GRIEVING mother last night told of her final words to her "fantastic" son before he was killed by a train.

Speaking for the first time since the tragedy that saw two youngsters killed on a railway line in Darlington, Christine Mullis said she spoke to her son, Lee, by mobile phone an hour before the accident. She told him: "Don't you dream of coming home covered in mud."

The 14-year-old was struck by a train on the East Coast Main Line on Friday, along with his best friend, Stuart Adams, 15.

Last night, Lee's parents, Ray and Christine, told how proud they were of their son and how they could not believe they would never see him again.

"This is the longest time I have never seen him," said Mrs Mullis, 43.

"He's never been away, even for a weekend, without me. He always used to come home and crash the door. That happened the other night and I thought he'd come in."

His sister Linzi, 21, said: "You forget. You don't think it's real."

Lee's parents said he became a ball boy for Newcastle United so he could meet his Manchester United heroes, including England captain David Beckham, who scored on England's final appearance in the North-East at St James' Park last night.

"He even wore his Manchester United shirt under his Newcastle top, then took the Newcastle top off when he met David Beckman," said Mr Mullis, 57.

Police are carrying out tests to find out if the boys, both killed instantly, had been drinking alcohol. Mrs Mullis said it was possible her son had a couple of drinks.

But she spoke to Lee - a fanatical golfer due to represent the North of England in a tournament in Sedgefield, County Durham today - on his mobile phone at 7.30pm, about an hour before the two were killed. She said he did not sound drunk.

She planned to walk to the end of the street to meet him when he came home at 10pm.

But before that happened, the father of a friend of the boys, who was with them at the time, called to say there had been an accident, before driving them to the scene.

Mrs Mullis said police kept them from seeing the terrible aftermath of the tragedy.

"No one told me it was Lee," she said. "I never knew what had happened. We didn't get past the field. We heard some kids talking and Lee's name, but I still didn't know he was on the track."

"I wanted to go and see him and give him a cuddle," said Lee's sister. "I'm there thinking 'broken bones again'.

"My uncle Kevin told me he'd gone. I couldn't get my head round it."

Mrs Mullis could not understand what the boys were doing on the line. She said: "They never played at the Five Arches. Why they were there that night, I'll never know.

"Stuey and Lee did not have anything to do with drugs. They weren't your typical yobbo kids. They were the nicest lads."

Lee's sister said: "People who don't know Lee and Stuey think they were a bunch of idiot kids who knew no better.

"They were naughty as all kids are - but they were just mischievous."

The windowsill in the living room of the family home, in Whinfield, Darlington, is lined with Lee's golfing trophies, and the walls are covered with sympathy cards.

Mr Mullis said he felt proud of Lee's achievements, but especially his "fantastic talent" at golf. He said: "He was just going to be an absolutely super golfer. He just burned up the course. He was getting coached by the England coach, he was that good."

The boys' families are planning a joint funeral for Stuart and Lee, who knew one another since they were four and were "totally inseparable".

"It's too much as parents for us to go through twice," said Mrs Mullis. "We want to stick together."