Children film railway bike prank

Police are hunting a gang of children who filmed themselves throwing a bike onto rail tracks in Greater Manchester, before posting the clip on a website.

Three teenagers were seen throwing a bike over the top of a railway bridge onto tracks at Westhoughton in Bolton.

The film, taken on a mobile phone, was posted on the internet site Youtube.com - where people share home videos - but has now been removed.

British Transport Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Detectives have described it as an "outrageous incident" that could easily have ended in tragedy.

'Very worrying'

Ch Insp Graham Bamford said: "It is a very worrying development, throwing a bicycle over the top of a railway parapet.

"I'm worried that there are children involved, children filming this, and problems with perhaps copycatting.

"I am very worried about this and I'm very shocked as well.

"I'm going all-out to catch these people and hopefully put them in front of magistrates."

Officers say the youths were putting their own lives at risk as well as the lives of passengers and railway workers travelling on the trains, and that an object the size of a bicycle could have derailed a train with tragic consequences.

The managers of the Youtube.com website have not commented on the bike clip being posted on their site but the footage is no longer accessible and a note on the webpage says the video has been removed by the person who posted it on the site.

Police are hunting a gang of children who filmed themselves throwing a bike onto rail tracks in Greater Manchester, before posting the clip on a website.

Three teenagers were seen throwing a bike over the top of a railway bridge onto tracks at Westhoughton in Bolton.

The film, taken on a mobile phone, was posted on the internet site Youtube.com - where people share home videos - but has now been removed.

British Transport Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Detectives have described it as an "outrageous incident" that could easily have ended in tragedy.

'Very worrying'

Ch Insp Graham Bamford said: "It is a very worrying development, throwing a bicycle over the top of a railway parapet.

"I'm worried that there are children involved, children filming this, and problems with perhaps copycatting.

"I am very worried about this and I'm very shocked as well.

"I'm going all-out to catch these people and hopefully put them in front of magistrates."

Officers say the youths were putting their own lives at risk as well as the lives of passengers and railway workers travelling on the trains, and that an object the size of a bicycle could have derailed a train with tragic consequences.

The managers of the Youtube.com website have not commented on the bike clip being posted on their site but the footage is no longer accessible and a note on the webpage says the video has been removed by the person who posted it on the site.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/5298544.stm