Missing young girls from Blackpool who ran away from home were returned safely thanks to quick-thinking train conductor

The two girls, who are both under the age of 16, told the conductor they had ‘run away from home’, as they rode the train to York on the evening of Wednesday, 22 March 2023.

Conductor, Paul Wilkinson, had felt something ‘[wasn’t] quite right’ when he saw the girls on board, so alerted the police.

British Transport Police (BTP) intercepted the train at Leeds and took the girls into their duty of care.

‘Something ‘[wasn’t] quite right’

Paul Wilkinson said: “I’ve worked on the railway for nearly 16 years and you meet hundreds if not thousands of customers every day – but through experience and training you can feel when something isn’t quite right – and you know that you need to call BTP. You should always trust your instincts.”

Chris Jackson, regional director for Northern, said: “Paul responded as any one of our staff would do when getting the sense that something wasn’t ‘quite right’ – and I applaud his actions. I’m glad these young girls were found and returned home.”

Safeguarding children

British Transport Police praised Mr Wilkinson’s ‘quick-thinking’, adding that the girls were returned home after safeguarding checked had been carried out.

Inspector Pete Wilcock said: "We train] rail staff on how to look beyond the obvious and spot the signs of children who are vulnerable or at risk.

"And we continue to work together, sharing intelligence and knowledge, to create a network of people who can understand, identify and help support and safeguard children.

Training railway workers to spot vulnerable people

In 2022, Northern began the process of training its 7,000-strong workforce in how to spot vulnerable people on the railway and have the confidence to intervene.

The training is provided by the charity ‘Railway Children’, whose work focusses on identifying individuals at risk and helping with early forms of intervention.

Anyone can contact British Transport Police via text message on 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.