A quick thinking TransPennine Express (TPE) conductor helped return two missing children to their home in London.
Mark, who works for the train operator, spotted a young girl wearing school uniform as he was carrying out his duties on a train bound for York late at night.
He said that ‘alarm bells’ rang as she boarded the train wrapped in a blanket at Manchester Piccadilly station.
He then discovered that the youngster and the boy travelling with her did not have a ticket or any means of paying and had a large rucksack with them.
Mark alerted British Transport Police (BTP) who sent officers from West Yorkshire Police to take the pair into their duty of care at Leeds station.
He convinced them to stay on the train until then – and even gave the girl a KitKat from another colleague’s lunch box as she had low blood sugar, and her companion was worried she was having a diabetic episode.
Mark said: “I’ve only been on the railway for the relatively short period of 2.5 years, but in this time, I have come across and dealt with a number of missing children.
“If something doesn’t feel right, then report it. Be smart and ask questions. Overall, on our network we have great support and are lucky to have BTP at a number of the stations we serve.”
Billy Vickers, Head of Stations and Safeguarding at TransPennine Express, said: “Mark did an incredible job getting these two children to a place of safety and I know our other colleagues would do the same.
“We work closely with British Transport Police to ensure the safety of everyone using our services and we also offer training to our staff.”
