An initiative to tackle trespassing on Fife’s railways has been hailed as a success.
Officers from British Transport Police launched the project in the wake of a “worrying” number of incidents in the past year that saw people walking on to the tracks illegally.
Kirkcaldy, Cardenden and Cowdenbeath were considered particular hot spots, with a large-scale effort made in August to make people aware of the dangers that can be posed by the railway.
Some of the incidents investigated by officers included reports of children of school age being seen on the tracks, golfers trespassing on the line to retrieve errant shots and people taking shorts cuts between station platforms.
High-visibility BTP patrols in the most affected areas were increased and officers also made visits to a number of schools and community groups, particularly those in close proximity to the railway line.
Between August 1 and December 10, there have only been two trespassing incidents and one case of stone throwing reported, which compares to 56 line of route offences recorded between August 2013 and August this year (53 trespass and three stone throwing incidents).
Constable Stuart Cowan of BTP, based at Kirkcaldy, said: “The railway is an extremely dangerous environment and anyone who messes about on or near the railway puts themselves in great danger, as well as the staff working on the rail network and passengers travelling on trains.
“What they must realise is that their actions are not only illegal and potentially dangerous to others, they could prove fatal.”