Primary school children in the coastal village of Heysham in Lancashire are the latest to create artwork on the theme of ‘Suzy the Sheep’ to promote safety around railway lines and stations.

The woolly character began life in an illustrated guide to railway safety published in 2017 by the Bentham Line Community Rail Partnership (CRP).

The following year, the ‘Suzy the Sheep’ schools art project started, with children from the Lancashire market town of Carnforth creating images featuring Suzy telling people to stay off the track. Over the following years, children from Cononley, Clapham, Giggleswick and Hellfiield helped to produce panels for display at their schools and stations.

Each participating school contributes to an original artwork which local professional artist Alastair Nicholson frames and presents to the school and also incorporates into a display panel for their local station. The classes also take a trip by train to visit the activity room at Bentham station, where the CRP’s offices are located, or to the Heritage Centre at Carnforth, where they can more about train journeys.

This year, it was the turn of Heysham and Bentham to join the growing list of stations along the Bentham Line to display this key safety message. Hedgehog Class (Year 2) from Bentham Community Primary School visited Carnforth to create their ‘Suzy’, with its unique Bentham background, and enjoy other rail-safety-related activities. At the end of the school year, the CRP visited the school to present pupils with certificates and to formally hand over their completed Suzy. In early September, the children will visit Bentham station to unveil the replica panel which delivers the same message to the community.

Last month, representatives of the Bentham Line (Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership) met with staff and children from St Peter’s Church of England Primary School, Heysham, and Cllr Roger Dennison, Mayor of Lancaster City, at an event at Heysham Port to unveil a panel which greets passengers alighting at Heysham Port en route for their crossing to the Isle of Man.

The Mayor met the children whose art is included in the panel, who were keen to locate their own contribution once the panel was unveiled.

Hannah Owens, a class teacher at St Peter’s, said  “It was a lovely and fun experience for the children who learnt a lot of useful information about keeping safe when using trains. The children were very motivated by the challenge.”

Gerald Townson, Chair of the Bentham Line, said “We will be with the Primary School at Gargrave next term, but would also like to extend the initiative to other schools and stations in Morecambe, Bare, Lancaster, Skipton, Steeton and Silsden, Keighley, Bingley, Shipley and Leeds.  Any schools who would like to take part in this project, unique to the Bentham Line, should contact us by email: [email protected] or by telephone: 015242 98940.”

Rod Tickner, Vice-Chair commented that: “The artwork at my local station, Cononley, has been in place for five years and it is still a vibrant reinforcement of the need for vigilance and care as trains cannot stop quickly.  There are several level crossings and numerous foot crossings along the Bentham Line which are public rights of way, so it is a vital that the safety message reaches a wide audience.”

The Bentham Line is the working title for the Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership (CRP), which was set up in 2006 to improve services and develop community links along the railway line.

The route runs from Heysham and Morecambe on the west coast, via Lancaster and Carnforth through the Lune and Wenning valleys with Ingleborough to Skipton and along the Aire valley to Leeds, thus linking the West Coast mainline at Lancaster with the East Coast mainline at Leeds.