POLICE have launched extra patrols to stop people walking on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

Bosses of the volunteer-run railway asked for police help after seeing a huge number of people trespassing on the lines during lockdown.

Parents and grandparents with young children, dog walkers and groups of teenagers have been treating the heritage line as a public footpath.

Some have shared pictures and videos of their antics on social media, with one woman pictured doing a handstand on a metal track.

The heritage line issued a warning that although the line was closed to the public during lockdown, trains might still be running as part of engineering work.

Inspector Khalid Khan, who leads the Keighley Neighbourhood Policing Team, this week said: ““I would urge people not to consider using the train tracks as a place to exercise.

“We are working with the Worth Valley Railway on this issue and have been increasing patrols in the area.”

Operations manager Noel Hartley said: “The Worth Valley Railway’s track is private property and should not be accessed by members of the public.

“There are lots of slip and trip hazards on the line, because it is a place that trains should be and not people. We are closed to the public, but may still run engineering trains.”