'Alarm bells rang' when girl boarded train in Manchester... before conductor took action

Two children who boarded a train at Manchester Piccadilly were found to be missing from their home in London.

'Alarm bells rang' for TransPennine Express conductor Mark when a 'young girl', who was wearing her school uniform, boarded at train at the Manchester station. She was wrapped up in a blanket.

She was travelling with a boy and the pair did not have a ticket or any means of paying. Both had a large rucksack with them on the late-night train bound for York.

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Mark, concerned about the youngsters, alerted the British Transport Police (BTP) who sent officers from West Yorkshire Police to take them into their care at Leeds station. The conductor was able to convince the children to stay on the train until then - giving them a KitKat from a colleagues lunch box.

The children were found to missing from London. Mark said: "I've only been on the railway for the relatively short period of 2.5 years, but in this time, I have come across and dealt with a number of missing children.

"If something doesn't feel right, then report it. Be smart and ask questions. Overall, on our network we have great support and are lucky to have BTP at a number of the stations we serve."

Billy Vickers, Head of Stations and Safeguarding at TransPennine Express, said: "Mark did an incredible job getting these two children to a place of safety and I know our other colleagues would do the same. We work closely with British Transport Police to ensure the safety of everyone using our services and we also offer training to our staff."

TPE recently received the Safeguarding on Rail Scheme accreditation for the second year in a row. Billy added: "I