Bizarre CCTV footage shows man taking photos of young girl on Yorkshire railway line

The footage was captured at Mingledale crossing near Harpham, on the Driffield to Bridlington line. Although many railway trespassers are usually teenagers, at Harpham the offenders include a small girl and her father who appear to be posing for a photoshoot and a group of middle-aged male cyclists who gathered on the tracks for a picture.

Trains using the line travel at speeds of up to 70mph.

There was a near-miss incident at Harpham in May, although this is not included in the video montage.

The video begins with a girl of primary school age standing in the middle of the crossing. A man, believed to be her father, is taking photos of her adopting several different poses while she occasionally looks behind her for approaching trains. Their car can be seen with the door open behind the crossing gates.

The next clip shows a cyclist begin to cross, before he pauses and props his road bike between the rails and returns to the gate to let another cyclist through.

Five men on mountain bikes are then filmed dismounting and lining up across the width of the tracks for a group photo.

A walker carrying a large backpack is seen to enter the crossing and then pause before wandering on.

The next crossing users are two men and a woman on road bikes, who again pause on the tracks to rest and look down the line.

The final clip shows a larger group of cyclists. Five of them gather at the gate while their friend stands on the tracks and takes a photo of them.

Network Rail advises that at any level crossing with facilities for pedestrians and cyclists to cross, they must do so quickly and without stopping after they have checked it is safe to do so. Most crossings have warning lights that indicate when a train is approaching even when the gates are still open.

Operations risk advisor Vicki Beadle said: “The behaviour we have seen at Mingledale and Harpham level crossings is deeply concerning and shows that people are completely oblivious to the dangers they are putting themselves and their friends in.

“More people are exercising outdoors during the summer, and may be taking new, unfamiliar routes, but the railway is not a photo opportunity and it is never safe to stop or hang around on the tracks.

“It is crucial that people take extra care to cross quickly and directly, once they’ve checked it is safe.”