This was the heart-stopping moment a boy stood on top of a bridge over dangerous rail tracks in Shepley.
The reckless stunt was captured on camera by a resident who lives near Shepley Railway Station last Friday lunchtime.
The woman watched in horror as the boy wandered 40ft above the busy Penistone Line.
Police have shared the shocking image on social media condemning what happened and urging parents to remind their children of the dangers of playing near railway lines.
Writing on the Kirklees Rural Neighbourhood Policing Team Facebook page, a spokesman said: “We keep trying to highlight the dangers of playing, hanging around or crossing railway lines and we will continue to do so to help get the message across.
“We were all young and daft once, and we’ve all done some silly things as kids and we understand that sometimes dangers are simply not realised.
“If you have children and teens, please show them this photo and talk about why it’s dangerous and what the consequences could have been if that lad had slipped and fallen onto the tracks below.”
British Transport Police have been campaigning this summer to stop children playing near rail tracks.
Insp Caroline Farrow, of British Transport Police, said: “The last thing our officers want to do is knock on someone’s door to tell a parent their child has been killed or seriously injured as a result of messing about on the railway.
”Please make sure your children are aware that the railway is an incredibly dangerous environment and remind them to stay away from the rail network. It’s not a playground.”
