Death, promises and near misses - but still no plan to make level crossing safer
Plus: Changes promised after two-year-old's death and our campaign for fairer sick pay
Hello and welcome to the eighth edition of The Southport Lead.
Six years ago after the tragic death of a woman who stepped onto the railway lines, Network Rail said it was planning to install full barriers to replace the partial ones at the Crescent Road crossing in Birkdale.
Three years later, tragedy again struck again as another person chose to end their life in the same location. Two days ago, the rail company issued a warning after a near miss on the crossing as a seemingly unaware woman had to step back after almost walking into the oncoming train by accident.
Yesterday, I witnessed a cyclist ride around the barriers to avoid waiting.
So why did the barriers never get installed as promised? Read on to find out what Network Rail has to say.
Also in today’s edition, how the tragic death of a two-year-old girl could lead to a law change giving pharmacists more freedom during supply issues. A coroner has demanded change after Ava Grace Hodgkinson’s parents were unable to collect her antibiotics before she died from sepsis.
There’s also the latest headlines from across the town and news of The Lead’s campaign for fairer sick pay.
‘No funding’ allocated five years after Network Rail promised to improve safety at deadly crossing
Five years after National Rail first promised to improve safety barriers at level crossing where two people died, the rail company admitted it still has allocated no funding to the project.
In a week in which National Rail issued a public warning after a woman almost stepped into the path of an oncoming train by accident, a spokesperson insisted the crossing is “safe” and conceded there are currently no plans to add the full barriers.
As The Southport Lead stopped at the crossing to take a photograph on Tuesday, both a pedestrian and driver sped up when the lights started flashing before a cyclist weaved around the partial barriers once they’d descended.
Concerns over the Crescent Road crossing have been discussed for almost a decade amid fears that the current barriers - which only stretch across half the road on each side - do not provide adequate safety measures.
Tragically, two people have died at the crossing after gaining access to the tracks, while other incidents have included near misses and even a car ending up on the tracks.
The car incident occurred in 2016, when the vehicle was driven onto the tracks before being shunted some 30ft after the driver had managed to escape to safety. In 2018, a train driver had to make an emergency stop when three people walked onto the tracks as he approached before retreating in panic.
In January 2019, Flur McDonald’s death at this location prompted her brother to launch a petition to add full barriers and more than 1,000 people added their backing.
In July of that year, Labour’s then would-be General Election candidate Liz Savage uncovered records which showed full barrier replacement had been recommended back in 2016 but not carried out.
At the time, a Network Rail spokesman the The Southport Visiter: “The safety of all level crossing users at Crescent Road in Birkdale is our priority. We are in the early stages of planning to replace the signalling for trains in the area and this includes the installation of full barriers at this level crossing in future.
“In the meantime, we have installed vehicle enforcement cameras to discourage level crossing misuse. Road users and pedestrians alike are reminded they must never cross when the warning lights and sirens are in use.”
Despite those promises, the change was never carried and another tragedy occurred in September 2022.
And earlier this week, National Rail released footage of a near miss at the crossing in a warning for others to take more care when walking there.
According to the rail company, trains here reach up to 60mph and the woman seen in the footage was “half a second” away from being hit. That incident occurred at 9.45am on January 24 and happened because the woman involved “didn’t take notice of the warning lights and audible signals”.
Simon Shipperd, Network Rail level crossing manager said, "In my time as a level crossing manager, I haven’t seen a near miss this close to being a fatality. The individual appeared to be completely unaware of her surroundings, suggesting she may have been distracted at the time.
"Safety is our top priority and we cannot stress the message to pedestrians enough to please take extra care when approaching level crossings."
That “top priority” message was repeated further down in the press release which was issued to warn pedestrians to take extra care at such crossings. So why, five years on from the initial promise to add full barriers to the junction, has nothing changed?
The Southport Lead asked Network Rail whether it remained committed to installing full barriers and to explain why it had either taken so long to achieve any progress or dropped the plan altogether.
In response, a spokesperson said: “The safety of our passengers is our top priority and that’s why we have provision in place to protect people at this crossing.
“We have half-barrier system in place which closes in advance of a train approaching the crossing, signalling drivers and pedestrians not to cross while it is down.
“Pedestrians or drivers will also hear an alarm signalling a train is approaching, as well as very visible road traffic signals alerting them to the danger.
“While this crossing remains safe we are exploring options to make improvements, including a full-barrier system, in the future. We do not have funding earmarked for this at the moment but will continue to work with partners, the local community and our supply chain to identify funding options in the future.”
Don’t suffer in silence. If you’re struggling with your mental health, you are not alone and there is a range of free-to-access services ready and waiting to help you.
You can contact Samaritans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year online, by email jo@samaritans.org or phone 116 123
You can call the CALM on 0800 58 58 58 (5pm–midnight every day) if you're affected by suicide or suicidal thoughts or use its webchat service
If you would prefer not to talk but want some mental health support, text SHOUT to 85258 for a confidential 24/7 text service providing crisis support
If you're under 35 and struggling with suicidal feelings, or concerned about a young person who might be struggling, you can call Papyrus HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141 (24 hours, 7 days a week), email pat@papyrus-uk.org or text 07786 209 697
More information and support is available from the MIND mental health charity and from the NHS.
Lessons of young Ava’s death to help prevent further tragedies
By Luke Beardsworth
The death of a two-year-old girl from Banks could lead to changes to restrictions on what pharmacists are allowed to give out.
Ava Grace Hodgkinson was two-years-old when she died at Ormskirk District General Hospital after a short illness led to her contracting sepsis. Her death came after a delay in receiving antibiotics which could have saved her life amid a national shortage in such medication.
In December 2022, Ava, from Banks, was suffering from a chesty cough and, due to a nationwide outbreak of Strep A, her parents were concerned she had caught the infection.
A first visit to her GP that morning found no infection but nonetheless antibiotics were prescribed. Locum GP Dr Rizwan’s first choice of phenoxymethylpenicillin was unavailable due to a national shortage and amoxicillin was instead chosen.
However, when Ava’s dad went to the pharmacy to collect the medicine he was told this was also out of stock and he had to wait until the following morning to be able to get any.
Restrictions on pharmacists mean that the dispenser was unable to give a different strength of the same medication to allow what would effectively be the same dosage. This would have been allowed had the Department for Health and Social Care issued a Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP) but is otherwise forbidden.
These restrictions are now being reviewed after a coroner ordered the DHSC to make changes to prevent further tragedies.
You can read the full article in today’s edition of The Lancashire Lead.
The Lead’s campaign for fairer sick pay
Last weekend, The Lead’s national title launched a campaign calling on the Government to introduce fairer sick pay. At present, statutory sick pay is just £116.75 per week and changes brought in to help employees could inadvertently make this worse.
In Sefton alone, figures from the TUC and The Centre For Progressive Change 2024 show that some 29,933 receive statutory sick pay - around 25% of employees - and could see that money drop under proposed government changes.
The proposal, which is part of the Employment Rights Bill, is designed to stop people earning more money through sick pay than through their wages but may instead have the consequence of taking money from the most vulnerable.
In response to the this, The Lead and the Safe Sick Pay campaign have joined forces to urge the government to make the change needed to support some of society's most vulnerable workers.
You can read more about the proposed changes and our suggestion on how they could be fixed on The Lead’s newsletter here.
You can also add your name to the petition calling for an increase to Statutory Sick Pay.
News in headlines
Southport Pleasureland relaunches as Adventure Coast Southport to offer a ‘fresh immersive experience’ (Stand Up For Southport)
Man arrested after crashed Mercedes dumped in Marine Lake (Liverpool Echo)
'First in UK' Vue cinema unveiled in Southport (Liverpool World)
Thanks for reading this mid-week edition of The Southport Lead, I’ll be back in your inbox on Sunday morning.
In the meantime if there’s anything you think I should be looking into then drop me a line southport@thelead.uk
Have a great rest of the week and if you’re in a position to support this newsletter then please consider a paid subscription.
Jamie & The Southport Lead team
