Reckless youngsters risked their lives and caused chaos for rail users by trespassing into the paths of two trains travelling through Dundee.
A driver was forced to stop his train just outside the city after spotting a young child sitting in the middle of the tracks just west of the station on Thursday.
The train from Glasgow was halted close to the Tay Rail Bridge, just before Dundee Railway Station, at 5.45pm but when police attended they did not find the child, who is believed to have been filming the trains.
Earlier the same day a teenager caused a near miss close to the Broughty Ferry level crossing by running out in front of theAberdeen to Dundee train, causing it to screech to a halt at 3.50pm.
Passengers on both trains were shocked by the incidents, which also causeddisruption to both rail services.
George McIrvine was travelling from Glasgow when his train was stopped just outside the Dundee station, causing frustration for passengers.
“The public address system announced that we should expect delays because of children on the line and that they had contacted British Transport Police,” he said.
“They kept us there for 10 to 15 minutes. We just wanted to be let off and we could have walked.”
Liam Reid was travelling from Aberdeen when his train had to brake suddenly at the Broughty Ferry incident.
He said: “They had to hammer on the brakes and we just sat there for a fewminutes.
“It was quite dramatic. The public address system just apologised but there was no explanation for why we had slammed on the brakes.”
British Transport Police were involved in both incidents, which were also reported to Network Rail.
A spokesman for Network Rail said: “In the area near the Broughty Ferry level crossing there was a teenage youth reported having crossed the railway in front of a train. The incident would be classed as a near miss.
“Trespassing on the railway is extremely dangerous as trains travelling at speed take a long time to stop.
“Anyone struck by a train is likely to get very seriously injured or killed outright.”
A spokesman for the British Transport Police said about the later incident: “The driver was travelling at quite some speed and saw what he thought was a child sitting on the track videoing trains.
“Trespassing on the railways is extremely dangerous and also against the law. We don’t know exactly what happened on Thursday night but railways are only safe if you are where you should be.”
Anyone with information on either of the incidents is asked to contact BritishTransport Police on 0800 40 50 40 ortext 61016 quoting crime reference 488 on August 14.