Level crossing warning

9 February 2011, 12:17 | Updated: 21 February 2011, 11:57

Heart's been sent footage of a car reversing in to a level crossing barrier, after it ignored warning lights that show a train was approaching.

The incident was captured in Everton, near Sandy in Bedfordshire. 

Network Rail's released the video on the same day as figures show the number of cars caught mis-using level crossings has gone up.

Throughout 2010 there were 3,446 recorded incidents across the UK - compared to 3,244 the year before. In Cambridgeshire during 2010 there were 98 incidents while in Hertfordshire there were 62. That compares to 23 in Bedfordshire and 27 in Buckinghamshire. Network Rail thinks the number of people using the crossings incorrectly is actually much higher.

Robin Gisby, Network Rail operations director, said: “Too many motorists continue to break the law by jumping the lights or swerving around barriers at level crossings. Hundreds of pedestrians are also risking their lives just trying to save a few seconds. It’s just not worth it.

“Whilst deaths and injuries are thankfully few, the actions of an impatient or ignorant minority cause great cost, delay and disruption to rail and road users across the south.”

Although the number of near-misses is up, across the country collisions with trains have halved from 14 in 2009 to seven, and fatalities have gone down from 13 to four.