Eyesore bridge at Dalcross Grove is given a facelift (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Eyesore bridge at Dalcross Grove is given a facelift

7:00am Friday 26th October 2012 in News By Katherine Brannan

A Bradford railway bridge known as a hotspot for vandalism has been given a much-needed make-over by young offenders.

The clean-up at the bridge in West Bowling was part of a scheme arranged by Network Rail and Bradford Youth Offending Service (YOS) to educate young people about the dangers of misusing the railway.

The task group was brought in to tidy up the graffiti-scrawled bridge at Dalcross Grove to make amends for past behaviour. Last month, railway police put out a warning that innocent people could be killed if idiots continued to throw missiles at trains from the footbridge at Dalcross Grove.

Two passenger trains had been hit in two separate incidents when an old television and a brick were hurled from it, despite earlier police warnings after a spate of incidents there.

British Transport Police had already been investigating the damaging of three trains over the August Bank Holiday weekend when bricks were thrown from the bridge.

Speaking about the recent clean-up, Phil Verster, route managing director for Network Rail, said: “This area has seen high levels of trespass and vandalism in recent weeks with objects being thrown from the bridge and deliberately placed on the line.

“Dozens of young people are killed or injured misusing the railway every year. Not only does this scheme give the community a cleaner area but it gives us the opportunity to help young people understand the potentially fatal consequences of misusing the railway.

“Our partnerships with youth offending services help to drive home the importance of railway safety and also help young people to give something back to their community.”

And Bradford YOS team leader Mal Saville added: “Graffiti is an eyesore and brings the area down. We are always happy to work with our partners and other agencies to help make Bradford a cleaner, better and safer place to live and work''

Inspector Richard Price, from British Transport Police, said the recent clean-up would be a big relief for residents living nearby because graffiti and fly tipping on and around the bridge had turned it into an eyesore.

“This clean up by Network Rail is one of the joint measures that we have put in place since the increase of trespass and vandalism witnessed area over the past few weeks,” he said.

And he added: “We have also been undertaking high visibility patrols and covert patrols, and liaising closely with the community, and I am happy to say that since we started this partnership working to address the issues in the area we haven’t had any incidents reported on the railway.”