Barnsley rail crossing shut to 'prevent possible tragedy'
Fifteen separate incidents were recorded at the site in two months, which include people placing objects on the track and lying down on the live rail.The six-month footpath closure has now been approved by Barnsley Council, following two three-week emergency closure orders."We have received messages from residents supporting our decision, recognising that this was entirely the right thing to do for the safety of the community," Mr Cunningham added.British Transport Police have visited local schools to raise awareness about staying safe around railways, Network Rail said.
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As part of their effort to try and stamp out the number of nuisance supercars plaguing London, the Metropolitan Police deployed 75 officers to hunt out rule breakers last week. The crackdown by Scotland Yard came amid reports of anti-social and dangerous driving, alongside drivers being a 'nuisance' across hotspot areas of London. The operation, led by the Met, was supported by the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) - which said several of the seized cars had been brought into the UK from abroad. Many of these vehicles' drivers had been relying on motor insurance from the home countries and failed to verify if those policies provided valid coverage in Britain - leading to the cars being impounded by cops, with 72 seized in all. The small army of cops used everything from automatic number plate recognition - or ANPR for short - to predictive vehicle movement tracking and vehicle markers to track down luxury cars without the right insurance. Officers also detected a range of other criminal activity in their crackdown. This included individuals wanted for actual bodily harm and criminal damage, for drug offences, vehicle theft, immigration offences and for fraudulent insurance policies, known as 'ghost broking'. Cops also handed out countless tickets for a range of other crimes , including driving without a valid licence, using a mobile phone while driving, and failing to have a valid MoT. A previous clampdown by the Met Police in August last year saw a haul of supercars worth £6million seized as boy racers were accused of using London as 'their own personal racetrack'. Extravagant vehicles including McClarens, Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, Ferraris and Lamborghinis were among the 60-strong collection confiscated by Scotland Yard. It came after concerns had been raised about the streets of central London becoming more like 'racetracks' - prompting officers to swoop into action. Metropolitan Police Special Inspector Geoff Tatman said: 'The Met is working to put communities first - listening to and tackling their concerns. 'This hugely successful operation has proved we are dealing with those crimes, such as anti-social driving, that is causing most distress to residents and tourists.' He insisted officers were 'doubling down on crime on the roads' as he praised the 'hard work and dedication' of Scotland Yard's volunteer special constables. Insp Tatman described them as playing 'a vital role in our mission to make London safer' as they 'kindly give up their free time to help serve the community'. Council chiefs suggested similar further moves could lie ahead. Paul Dimoldenberg, Westminster council's lord mayor, previously lambasted wealthy motorists for deliberately ignoring road rules. Parking enforcement officers from Westminster Council are seen issuing fines after two luxury cars were parked illegally 'People who think it is okay to use our roads as their own private racetrack late at night are not welcome in Westminster,' he said last year during his time as the council's city management boss. 'The noise and dangerous driving from these boy racers is often worse during the summer, so I welcome these results from the enforcement work.' Speaking of this week's supercar seizures, Special Chief Officer James Deller from the Met Police, said the operation was part of the force's effort to tackle anti-social behaviour. He added: 'This operation was set up to respond to resident, business and visitors' concerns about high-value vehicles causing a nuisance in known hotspot areas in central and west London.' SCO Deller insisted the crackdown had been a 'real success' in helping to educate drivers and enforce the law. Further joint operations between the Met and MIB are planned later this year.
