Children are seen doing handstands and playing chicken with high speed trains - forcing busy level crossing to close

Children have been seen doing handstands and playing 'chicken' with oncoming trains – forcing a busy level crossing to shut. 

Pictures show children and teenagers playing on Brickfields level crossing near Upminster in London. 

Some were pictured deliberately playing 'chicken' with oncoming trains – jumping out of the way of the train at the last second. 

Others were seen performing handstands, using their phones and racing across to beat a train. 

The crossing has now been closed with Network Rail condemning the 'concerning behaviour' that could put the teenagers at significant risk of injury or death. 

The railway line through Brickfields is used by approximately 230 trains every day. 

The crossing was initially closed for 21 days from September 30.

But now the closure will be extended until all year groups at local schools receive education about the dangers of trespassing on the railway. 

Network Rail's Shenel Bullock said: 'The safety of the public is our absolute priority, which is why we have taken the difficult decision to temporarily close Brickfields level crossing.

'We understand this closure may inconvenience some local people, but we cannot ignore the significant risks posed by this behaviour.

'This temporary closure gives us the opportunity to assess what further measures may be needed to keep people safe.

'We are asking parents, carers, teachers and the wider community to help us reinforce this vital safety message. Every railway safety conversation could help prevent a tragedy.'

An 11-year-old schoolboy was killed in January 2025 after he was hit by a train while walking to school. 

An inquest concluded he was distracted by his smartphone. 

Jaiden Shehata, a Year 7 student at Riddlesdown Collegiate in South Croydon, died while on the 'high-risk' level crossing near Kenley, south London, on January 23 last year. 

He would usually have been accompanied by his 18-year-old brother, Reece, but had set off for school 20 minutes earlier than normal that day. 

Jaiden, who had started at the school four months before, walked into the path of an oncoming London-bound train at the Bourneview crossing, despite the driver sounding the horn while approaching the crossing. 

The promising young footballer and Chelsea fan was not wearing headphones at the time.

At the inquest into Jaiden's death, Sarah Ormond-Walshe, senior coroner at South London Coroner's Court, said Jaiden was 'doing something which was very much normal behaviour by all of us', adding that 'everybody' gets distracted by their phones.

The schoolboy was struck by the train at 8.03am.

He was found by a police officer at 8.18am before paramedics arrived a few minutes later, and pronounced dead at 8.52am.