RAIL bosses have pledged to take action to stop youngsters climbing through a broken fence and dicing with death on the track.

The move comes after a Lower Darwen couple highlighted the problem and said they feared someone would be killed if action was not taken soon to seal off access to the line behind their home.

Sharon and Mike Tarrant, of Leacroft, say they have seen youngsters heading towards the railway lines on a daily basis and have tried to stop them setting fires on the banks and putting planks on the line in the past few months.

Network Rail plans to replace the wire fence in the eight-foot stretch with something more secure within the next 12 months but in the meantime has pledged to repair it whenever it is damaged.

District nurse Mrs Tarrant, 40, said: "We see adverts on television all the time about the dangers of people going on to the tracks, but we need to get a fence up that will stop them endangering themselves and other people.

"It's frightening -- I have been out to stop them putting planks on the line and I believe it's only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed.

"Last time the fence was repaired it was down literally within hours and someone needs to look at getting something more secure if they want to solve the problem.

"There used to be fencing all the way down there and all we are asking is to have it sealed off again to stop the damage and stop anyone getting hurt."

A spokesman for Network Rail, formerly Railtrack, said: "We have inspected this fence and it is part of our fence renewal system and will be completely replaced with something more secure within the next financial year.

"It needs to be renewed to be safe and secure. Until it is done we will maintain and repair it and we need residents to tell us when there are problems."