TEACHERS in East Lancashire will be asked to view CCTV footage taken by railway staff in a bid to catch youngsters who cause havoc on the lines in the summer holiday.

Railtrack North West is issuing video cameras to its staff who will ride alongside drivers to film youths who pelt trains with stones and put obstacles on the line.

Darwen, Accrington, Hapton, Colne stations and the Daisyfield junction were identified by Railtrack as suffering from vandalism.

The company has also fitted dozens of tiny hidden cameras to capture digital images of yobs who vandalise carriages.

The incriminating pictures will be distributed to schools so that headteachers and staff can try to identify them.

During 2000-2001 there were 437 incidents as trespass and vandalism in Lancashire, which meant that trains were delayed for a total of more than 200 hours.

Digital images cannot be used as evidence in court, but Railtrack safety officers will visit the schools to lecture offenders on the dangers their actions pose to themselves and others.

A Railtrack North West spokesman said: "Vandalism on trains and on lines reaches its peak during the summer holidays as the days are long and children quickly become bored.

"We are filming on the lines now, then taking the footage into local schools in September. The whole point of the campaign is to identify young vandals and trespassers in the act, so that when schools return after the holidays, we can arrange meetings with the teaching staff and get the message across to those pupils concerned.

"It isn't just about catching the culprits, it's about showing the inherent dangers that are associated with playing near and vandalising railway property.

"It poses a threat to the perpetrators, rail users and railway staff."

"We can then tell them about the danger they placed themselves in as well as telling them what were the consequences of their actions.