Locked-out birders let fly at rail firm

Visitors to Potteric Carr nature reserve, near Doncaster, are unhappy after the company closed access across the railway to a large tract of land, including a lake and bird hide, on health and safety grounds.

Network Rail now wants to make the closure permanent.

David Horncastle, a regular visitor since the reserve opened in 1968 and a member of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said: “There’s padlocks on the gates as we speak.

“We are cut up about it – as far as we are concerned it has always been an integral part of Potteric Carr nature reserve and its loss is quite horrendous.

“Health and safety is hardly relevant. A small number of responsible people, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust members and people who have paid to come in, use it.”

He added: “We just feel it has been done in a high-handed and summary manner without much consideration for what people think.”

A Yorkshire Wildlife Trust spokeswoman said: “It’s still temporary at the moment and we are in talks about how we can lessen the impact.

“Obviously the site is very well visited and popular with local people but a lot of our members use Potteric Carr, and this does cut off access to one of our bird hides and reed bed areas.

“We don’t want to lose access to part of our site.”

Over the past two years Network Rail has closed over 700 of the UK’s 6,500 crossings, but also spent £130m on improvements, including footbridges.

A spokesman for Network Rail said it was in discussions with the trust to offset the loss with improvements elsewhere in the reserve.

He added: “Regrettably this closure prevents access for visitors to the Lower Ellers Marsh and Childers Wood part of the reserve. We apologise for this restriction, but safety must come before all other considerations.”