TWO articles in the Echo confirm my view that the withdrawal of guards from Northern Rail trains will only increase the risk to public safety.

The Government’s flawed ideology and Northern Rail in thinking that the removal of guards will not have a detrimental effect on the travelling public, are total nonsense.

The current industrial action on Northern Rail might be a cause of inconvenience to the travelling public, but the public should understand and support the action to maintain safety on the railways.

In the first article “dog died after lead got trapped in train door dragging it into tunnel” (Echo, Sept 26), the owner was a disabled pensioner left on a station when the doors closed, the incident occurred on a Thameslink train.

In the second article (Echo, Oct 12) Shadow Transport Minister Rachael Maskell pointed to a fall in train guards as a factor in the rise in sexual assaults on the rail network.

Since 2012 sex crimes have increased by 167 per cent with over 2000 cases reported last year with the highest increase in areas where trains operate without guards, with women 13 times more affected.

I have always found train staff polite and professional on train journeys.

Now is the time for Northern Rail to remove any threat of withdrawal of guards from trains, and put public safety first.

R. Pitt, Middlesbrough