Woman lay on tracks at Tide Mills level crossing for photo

A woman in a bright jacket can be seen sprawled across the rails at the busiest level crossing in England while her friend takes pictures.

Footage shows the pair hanging around by the tracks for around 50 seconds shortly before 11.30am on Monday.

The stunt at the crossing – where trains pass through at up to 70mph – has been branded “unthinkably stupid” by police.

The incident at Tide Mills level crossing near Seaford is the latest instance of dangerous behaviour on the railway which could have ended with fatal or life-changing consequences, according to Network Rail.

It is the 17th incident at this crossing in the last nine months, with 15 recorded near misses.

During the whole of 2019, there were only four recorded incidents, with three recorded near misses.

Tracy Partridge, East Sussex level crossing manager at Network Rail, said: “We are concerned about repeated dangerous behaviour at Tide Mills level crossing which follows the near misses which took place last year.

“We cannot stress enough the danger that people are placing themselves in when they don’t use a crossing safely.

“A split-second decision can have life-changing consequences, not only for those involved, but also for their family and friends, train drivers and railway workers.

“Please, never take chances when using level crossings and if you have any concerns, always contact Network Rail or British Transport Police.”

Other dangerous behaviour at Tide Mills has included level crossing users filming the emergency stop of an oncoming train.

In another incident, bike users narrowly missed a train, while large groups of pedestrians have experienced close calls by trying to beat approaching trains.

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Cameras have also captured a funeral procession using the crossing.

British Transport Police Inspector Jonathan Pine said: “This is unthinkably stupid behaviour by two women clearly oblivious to the dangers of level crossings.

“Trains pass through this line at speeds of up to 70mph, so they could quite easily have been moments away from a catastrophic incident.

“We’ve seen first-hand the consequences of this sort of recklessness and no photo opportunity is worth risking your life for.”

A funeral procession using Tide Mills crossing

Local people and visitors will soon enjoy safer access across the railway at Tide Mills in the South Downs National Park after Network Rail’s proposals for a new footbridge were approved.

Once the new footbridge is in place, the footpath crossing will permanently close.