Two people have been arrested thanks to an operation involving British Transport Police and Network Rail following a spate of items being thrown onto the railway line in Hertfordshire.

The 10 incidents saw items such as shopping trolleys, a pram and clothing thrown or placed on tracks in the Hadley Wood area.

The criminal activity took place from November 2022 through to March 2023 and lead to four instances of trains striking objects.

British Transport Police officers were supported by a team from Network Rail who deployed an intelligence-led operation on the railway line close to Hadley Wood station, taking place from 11pm on the 4th of April.

The first arrest was of a 24-year-old man and took place at the location whilst the operation was live and led to the arrest of a 26-year-old man at an address in Barnet the following day.

The men were arrested on suspicion of endangering safety on the railway and have since been released from police custody on conditional bail whilst further enquiries are carried out.

BTP Sergeant, Rehan Ahmad, said:

“Obstructing the railway not only causes severe delays to services but puts the lives of passengers and rail staff at risk.

“Everyone has the right to a safe, disruption-free journey, and reckless behaviour like throwing objects onto the line threatens this right.

“If you witness an incident of this nature, please report it to us either by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40 – we take these reports very seriously and will always take action.”

Sam MacDougall, Operations Director for Network Rail’s East Coast route, said:

“It’s testament to the hard work of both the British Transport Police and Network Rail that these arrests have been made.

“This type of thoughtless behaviour is incredibly dangerous and causes needless and completely avoidable delays for passengers. We’d urge anyone who sees any type of suspicious behaviour on the railway to report it to the British Transport Police.”