Northern train conductor praised for helping return missing girls to their families

A Northern train conductor has been praised for his swift action in ensuring two missing young girls were returned safely to their families.

Paul Wilkinson, who works for Northern, found the missing girls — who are both under 16 — on the Blackpool North to York train on Wednesday evening, March 22nd.

He discovered they had, in their own words, ‘run away from home’ and immediately alerted British Transport Police (BTP). BTP intercepted the teenagers on the train at Leeds and took them both into their care.

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.”

“You should always trust your instincts,” he added.

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.”

BTP Inspector Pete Wilcock said: “As guardians of the railway we are constantly working with and training 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. That’s exactly what this conductor did and, thanks to his quick thinking the girls were returned home once safeguarding checks had been completed.”

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