13 August 2023 , 17:21
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Two teenagers have been spotted walking across the top of the steel girders of a railway bridge in "an act of stupidity".
The pair put their lives at risk as they step across the bridge over King Street and Times Square, in Longton, Staffordshire. Local councillor Chris Robinson called the action of the pair "absolutely disgraceful" and an "act of stupidity".
He said: "It's so irresponsible it's unreal. If someone had been walking under the bridge and they'd have fallen on them, the devastation it could have caused to them, or falling onto a car or in front of a bus full of people. There could have been a loss of life in two different families. They could have devastated two families with that one act of stupidity.
"It's so, so irresponsible, and I hope the police and the public identify who they are, and that the full force of the law gets hold of them."
A councillor described it "an act of stupidity"He added: "I have lived in Longton all my life and I am 65 this year, and I've never seen anything like that." He said he was contacted by concerned local residents regarding the footage," reported StokeonTrentLive.
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He continued: "A train could have come. I worked for British Rail many years ago, and there's no way of a train stopping in that short a distance. It would have been slowing down coming into Longton station, but there's no way it could have stopped, and the down draught would have knocked them off the bridge. They're not surviving that."
The Labour politician said there had been a "spate" of anti-social behaviour over the school holidays, including incidents at nearby Longton Tesco. He said: "I was there last week talking to Tesco workers, and they [youngsters] have been running in and out of the shop or taking skateboards into the shops.
"It seems to be an ASB thing, and I don't suppose it is worse than any other area. It always seems to spike in the school holidays. I would like to say that I'm shocked, but I'm not. Some of these things that happen don't shock me anymore, and they should."
Mr Robinson believes the solution to such problems "starts with engaging with the youth". He said: "When I was young we had youth clubs I used to go pretty much five nights a week to play football, do car mechanics and everything. I'm not making excuses for them, but would it help if we had things that occupied them?"
He added there had been a "massive" decrease in the provision of services for young people over the years: "Youth clubs, Sure Start, these things all helped, and those services were cut because there was seen to be no need for them. But, there is obviously a drastic need for them," he said.
"I wish I had all the answers, but I think it has got to start with engaging with the youth. But, there's got to be some responsibility from the parents. It's a collective responsibility to provide safe things for them to do, the parents taking more responsibility and society in general having a look at why these things happen."