FAMILIES are stepping into danger as they take a stroll along the railway tracks between Keighley and Oxenhope.

They have been warned that trains could still be running despite the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway being closed to the public.

The walkers – who also include grandparents, dog walkers and groups of teenagers – could also injure themselves by tripping on the tracks.

Railway bosses issued the warning this week after seeing huge numbers of people trespassing on the line during the lockdown.

Operations manager Noel Hartley said: "The Worth Valley Railway's track is private property and should not be accessed by members of the public.

"Mums, dads, grandmas and grandads have been seen taking children for walks on the railway line, along with dog walkers and other single people and groups of young people.

"There are lots of slip and trip hazards on the line, because it is a place that trains should be and not people. Trains could still appear – we are closed to the public, but may still run engineering trains.

"It concerns me that parents and grandparents are instilling an attitude into children's minds that it is okay to walk on railway lines. Fatalities on railway lines nationally are a regular occurence and it's absolutely awful when the victim is a child.

"We have had near misses with children in the past at the KWVR and they have been close enough.

Mr Hartley urged people instead to stick to approved public footpaths.

He added: "In this glorious weather we are being blessed with, there are so many options for walks in our area of natural beauty that don't involve walking on KWVR tracks."

Mr Hartley said the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway were working with West Yorkshire Police to combat the trespass issue.