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Was graffiti sign to blame for child's tram accident?

11:16am Monday 21st January 2008

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  • For an updated version of this story click here.

A small child who suffered multiple injuries after riding his bike into the path of an oncoming tram may not have seen a sign warning him of potential danger - because it was covered in graffiti.

The boy, thought to be around five years old, was caught under the vehicle at around 6.20pm yesterday as he cycled across a pedestrian crossing between Ampere Way and Waddon Marsh tram stops.

Ambulance crews took the child to St George's Hospital where he is being treated for his injuries.

Witnesses said a child's Wellington boot was recovered from the area between the tracks after the accident.

It is unclear why the accident occurred but it has been claimed a warning sign at the pedestrian crossing was so heavily-covered in graffiti that it was virtually unreadable.

However Tramlink bosses said the the driver had just a few seconds' warning of the child being in his path as he was pulling into Waddon Marsh tram stop.

Tramlink has also suggested the child may have been on his own without adult supervision.

Roger Harding, general manager of Tramtrack which runs Tramlink, said: "We had a report of a child riding a bike across the tracks in front of a tram. The emergency services attended immediately and we understand he is being treated for a broken arm.

"After checking our CCTV, there didn't seem to be any other adults in the area.

"From looking at the CCTV images the tram was already braking as it was pulling into Waddon Marsh tram stop.

"Our driver had about three seconds notice of the little boy on the bike. Undoubtedly the driver is shaken up by the experience and he is now subject to the normal supportive reactions in place in incidents like these."

The accident is now being investigated by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB).

When asked about whether the warning sign's visibility had been impaired because of graffiti, Mr Harding added: "I can't comment on whether that is the case, but I would consider whether or not a sign like this would have had any impact on a seven-year-old child riding his bike."

A spokesman for the London Ambulance Service said they were called to Purley Way just before 6.25pm between Ampere Way and Waddon Marsh tram stops, adding: "We sent two ambulances, two rapid response cars as well as an officer and a doctor.

"A five-year-old boy was taken to St George's Hospital with multiple injuries. From what the report says it looks like his injuries were quite a lot more serious than a broken arm.

"I don't think the child was on his own."

It took two hours to re-start the tram network which was a consequence of waiting for the RAIB to assess the incident, says Tramlink.

Passengers on the tram were taken off via the rear doors and escorted from the scene and then faced a delays as they waited for a 455 bus to complete their journey into Croydon.

  • For an updated version of this story click here.
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Your Say YourCroydon Guardian

Angie P, Wimbledon says...
11:46am Mon 21 Jan 08

On more than one occasion I've been on a tram when someone has tried to cross the tracks without looking - thankfully they usually escape unharmed. Unfortunately, as the driver is forced to slam on the brakes, passengers are violently thrown forward without warning. In my experience, tram drivers have excellent reflexes and will always explain what has happened. Sadly, even the best driver cannot make up for the fact that these days, children (and even some adults) are completely oblivious to everything and everyone around them.

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duncan, says...
1:30pm Mon 21 Jan 08

If he didn't see the tram coming along the tracks, it's unlikely he would have seen a sign which appears to be 7ft up. To try and blame this on a bit of graffiti is shameless. The real issue is, should a 5yr old have been out on his own, on a bike, in the evening? how much common sense do we expect little kids to have?

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Brian, Mitchekei says...
1:46pm Mon 21 Jan 08

Do they still teach the green cross code in schools?

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Seam, says...
2:04pm Mon 21 Jan 08

They can't blame graffiti. The kids are just too retarded these days to look around. Well i've been in situations similar to this with my bike, but i'm lucky.

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Caroline, London says...
2:16pm Mon 21 Jan 08

I was on the tram in question. I am glad to hear that the boy was taken to hospital and am hoping he will be on the mend soon, but annoyed by the statement from tramtrack saying the driver was already braking and pulling into the Waddon Marsh stop. In my opinion the tram was going at a considerable speed and while the driver did all he could to stop, it did take a long time. Why can't tramlink take incidents like this as a warning to either take away some of these small pedestrian crossings or start implementing some sort of warning system that a tram is approaching, before something more fatal happens.

My thoughts are with the boy and his family.

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marie, says...
2:26pm Mon 21 Jan 08

a five year old on his bike on his own! the parents should hang there heads in shame!!!
please correct me if im wrong?!

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P, says...
2:29pm Mon 21 Jan 08

Why was a 5 year old out riding by himself in the dark?! Secondly how can you blame graffiti? Its a crossing and he should of known better than to not look before crossing, its the same with a road! Its clear the parents are to blame for not being around!

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L, says...
2:35pm Mon 21 Jan 08

surely if he did not see the tram comming he would of herd it????

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Sarah, Surrey says...
2:44pm Mon 21 Jan 08

Terrible that a child has been hurt, but even worse that the blame is being put on Graffiti when this child was out after dusk alone near a tram line. Where is common sense???

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Eye Eye, Croydon says...
2:45pm Mon 21 Jan 08

Its a HUGE Red & White tram that trundles along. Hardly quiet. Where were the parents or guardians? Surely a 5 year old should be under CLOSE supervision at ALL times??

Oh no, lets blame the big red and white tram instead!


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ric, kingston says...
3:03pm Mon 21 Jan 08

on the list of things wrong leading up to this event. graffiti is probably at the bottom.

why is it even reported. where is the kids family?

tell us about that. not some weak link as to why it happened.



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justin, croydon says...
3:16pm Mon 21 Jan 08

Where was the parent of the child, this website should be asking questions about the parent, not having a cheap dig at tramlink, if it wasnt for the skill of the driver this child could have been killed.

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Trish, Croydon, says...
3:38pm Mon 21 Jan 08

I am with everyone else, why is a 5 year old out on his bike at 6:20pm? My oldest son is 12 and he is not allowed out in the dark evenings and fully accepts this! I am afraid bad parenting is to blame here.

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David, Croydon says...
3:40pm Mon 21 Jan 08

I agree with many of the comments above. If the child was riding in an area he presumably knew well he surely knew he was riding over a tram line, or would have been warned of the dangers by his parents. A signpost that is high in the air (presumably to prevent it being vandalised ironically) was probably out of his field of vision. If he couldn't hear or see a tram approaching he can't have been paying attention to anything around him.

Forgetting the child for the moment, my feelings go out to the driver, who is probably badly affected by this incident - more so if it turns out to be fatal.

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HELEN, MORDEN says...
4:08pm Mon 21 Jan 08

WHAT GETS ME IS THAT IT IS ILLEGAL TO LEAVE YOUR CHILDREN AT HOME BY THEMSELVES AT THAT AGE THEN WHY OH WHY DO SOME DIMWIT PARENTS LET THEM OUT ESPECIALLY IN THE DARK ON A BIKE! PROBALY JUST TO GIVE THEMSELVES PEACE AND QUIET!! THEY SHOULD BE QUESTIONED AND FINED FOR WASTING SO MANY PEOPLES TIME!

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m johnson, mtcham says...
4:21pm Mon 21 Jan 08

should we be looking atwhy a 5 year old was out on his own

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puzzled, tooting says...
6:40pm Mon 21 Jan 08

I hope social services will be looking into this

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paul, New Addington says...
7:16pm Mon 21 Jan 08

Caroline wrote:
I was on the tram in question. I am glad to hear that the boy was taken to hospital and am hoping he will be on the mend soon, but annoyed by the statement from tramtrack saying the driver was already braking and pulling into the Waddon Marsh stop. In my opinion the tram was going at a considerable speed and while the driver did all he could to stop, it did take a long time. Why can't tramlink take incidents like this as a warning to either take away some of these small pedestrian crossings or start implementing some sort of warning system that a tram is approaching, before something more fatal happens. My thoughts are with the boy and his family.
As you state, it is only your opinion that the tram was going considerable speed, and took a long time to stop, for the driver concerned it probably felt like it took an eternity to stop, but in reality was only seconds.

Why should some of the small crossings be removed? just so idiots that dont happen to notice a bloody great tram, can be safer? what about the elderly, it will mean they will have further to walk to cross as well.
What more can tramlink do, as the drivers approach a crossing they ring the bells, and sometimes sound thier horn.
Sorry but unless a person has either a white stick or a white stick with the red stripes then there is no-one to blame but themselves.

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marie, croydon says...
7:50pm Mon 21 Jan 08

L wrote:
surely if he did not see the tram comming he would of herd it????
spot on!! or if the parents were with him like its been reported why didnt they hear it and warn the child or pull him out the way? madness

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Lisa.g, says...
8:30pm Mon 21 Jan 08

Was graffiti sign to blame for child's tram accident?
Depends how good the families solicitor is.
Where was the parent of the child,
Probably watching big brother or some other chav tv style program like Eastenders.
I stopped at a crossing the other day and the person with two young children waiting didn't even notice that they had crossed the road while they stood there talking on their mobile phone.
A quick toot on the horn and me pointing towards the children was met with two fingers being stuck up at me and some sort of text speak style abuse.

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Jimmy, from Dartford says...
10:10pm Mon 21 Jan 08

Where are the Parents?
Where are the Parents?
Where are the Parents?
Where are the Parents?
Where are the Parents?

If they're not currently in jail, then they certainly should be after this. It is completely inexcusable, and the kid should be taken into care immediately!! God help him.

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Jimmy, from Dartford says...
10:11pm Mon 21 Jan 08

Where are the Parents?
Where are the Parents?
Where are the Parents?
Where are the Parents?
Where are the Parents?

If they're not currently in jail, then they certainly should be after this. It is completely inexcusable, and the kid should be taken into care immediately!! God help him.

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Desmond, Croydon says...
1:02am Tue 22 Jan 08

I don't think it is clear that the child was alone - it is presumed.
The graffiti issue was raised before it was known how old the victim was. If the signs are not to be looked at why are they there? This is an important issue to raise even if it was not the cause. Several other crossings have barriers (like they have at schools) e.g. Therapia Lane - so you cannot run across without going round a chicane. The tram was miles frm the Waddon Marsh tramstop - they don't start braking until after this point - not even today (when I was one one going past this point in the same direction). Look at the photos - the tram came to rest literally just past the crossing - some hundreds of feet before Waddon Marsh. Previously (before the crossing was installed) they would have gone at full speed (you could hear the motors buzzing) at this point - can you stil... Since the crossing was installed, there is no visible reminder to drivers (to ring the bell for instance). All that said the drivers do drive well and according to their instructions. The wider issue is that to have an open railway system, even where the drivers "drive on sight" unlike an ordinary railway is an invitation for it not to be taken seriously enough, especially where trams are at higher speeds than on the streets. Maybe his is the price we pay for having such an open and accessable system. Certainly there needs to be more education to be on the look out for trams as believe it or not, many people cannot always hear them.

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tony, london says...
4:04am Tue 22 Jan 08

There are many reasons why the child couldn't hear the tram coming. You only have to go out in croydon town centre to see so many walking along oblivious when the tram approaches.

The graffiti comment is a bit poor. Surely the kid knew they were tram tracks and 5 yrs old kids should be supervised shouldn't they?

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Bob Peel, Croydon says...
11:59am Tue 22 Jan 08

Did the reporter ascertain if the 5 year old could actually read?

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Jon, Croydon says...
3:10pm Tue 22 Jan 08

Firstly where were the parents, as the report doesn't clear up if the parents were there or not and if the parent(s) were there why did they allow a child to ride off in front of them next to a train line. They do teach children about the dangers of train lines and tram line, but that still hasn't stopped children playing near them. If the parents were not with him why was the child allowed to play outside at 6:25pm when it is dark??? He may have been with his parents but I see children between the ages of 5-12 playing on the streets on their own. The parents to me must be stupid to allow children to play outside at this time of night!!! When I was young I wasn't allowed out after dark until I was 16, and even then that was only to come back from a friends house.
Secondly, to blame this on graffiti is just an excuse. The lines are visible, the trams aren't small and at that time of night they have headlights on, so to blame it on something so insignificant is ridiculous. That to me sounds of someone looking for a scapegoat and not getting to the bottom of the true story here!!!
I just hope the child pulls through....

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Mark, Shirley says...
6:59pm Tue 22 Jan 08

1/Did the childs bike have lights on it?
2/Was he wearing fluorescent /reflective strips or light clothing.
3/Why was he riding on a pedestrian crossing?
4/ Was he alone or not?
5/ Can the boy read? Even if he can, unless the sign was well illuminated it would not be too visible in the pitch dark whether it was vandalised or not.

The parents seem to have let him down badly, but have actually just been unlucky. Hundreds of other children are being left unprotected every day but fortunately they are luckier than this young chap.

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halle, sutton says...
9:07am Wed 23 Jan 08

i fully understand where your all coming from with the bad parenting comments but have any of you stopped to think about how this poor little boy is. The comments above include calling children retards etc. lovely eh? He is propably in tremendous amounts of pain and dont you think his parents have probably lernt their lesson? I very much doubt a five year old child would know anything about crossing roads/tramlines etc. so he is probably very confused about what has happened, after all - it isnt his fault that his parents are irresponsible (if of course the child didnt let himself out!) Lets have some consideration eh everyone? after all, if you'd been hit by a tram would you want a bunch of people criticizing you?!

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a, sw london says...
12:49pm Wed 23 Jan 08

outrageous... what a society we live in? I work for the emergency services that attended this poor scrap of humanity. he is just 5 years old. As a parent myself, I know it is impossible to keep an eye on their every move, even harder if you have more than one child. I spoke to his mum, he WASN'T alone, and she was as devastated as anyone else would be. My heart went out to her, we all make mistakes, but fortunately most pass without the same catastrophic result.Lets remember that this boy was seriously injured and the last thing this family needs is vitriol from strangers. What gives any of you the right to pass judgement on this family. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. As for me, my sympathy is with the boy, and my thoughts and prayers are with his family at the most trying time in his short life. get well soon young man

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M.A, says...
6:23pm Wed 23 Jan 08

I am the mother of 3 children all under 10 and have had to cross the tram lines holding the hands of small children who are quite simply unaware of the dangers around them. I am astonished at the insidious insinuations made by Tramlink that the boy was on his own. Having had a Tramlink representative at the scene of the accident, they know perfectly well that both the boy's mother and other family members were present. This is quite simply a case of a corporate body trying to shuffle away from the blame. These crossings ARE dangerous. There is insufficient lighting, often there is not a good view down the track. It's all too easy for a small child to slip away from a parent and be injured in this way. SHAME on those of you who immediately took the opportunity to blame the mother. There but for the grace of GOD go all parents. Perhaps Tramlink should be reviewing how these crossings are constructed. Maybe if the boy's mother sued for negligence, Tramlink would change their tune...

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Jimmy, Dartford says...
11:45pm Wed 23 Jan 08

Sorry but you DON'T go out with a five year old on a bike in busy town centres with trams kicking around. Any parent who thinks you do, is clearly unfit to be a parent.

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mum, croydon says...
9:31am Thu 24 Jan 08

At 6.25 on a Sunday it cannot be classed as a busy town centre.
It is also a highly residential area that houses families.Where do you go with the children? The many parks and open spaces filled with drug addicts, perverts and gangs? The streets outside your house full of speeding traffic?
Probably far better to stay indoors and not give your child any exercise and add to the growing obesity problems in children.
When I was young people had accidents, pure and simple. Let's lose the blame culture and remember this.
I hope the child involved and those effected by the accident are all recovering well.

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ANNE GILES, selsdon says...
1:31pm Thu 24 Jan 08

I walk my dog in different parks on a daily basis and yet cannot find any drug addicts, perverts and gangs. Where are they?? What parks is mum from croydon referring to? Not a single park in this borough is "filled" with anything. This "mum" obviously reads the tabloids. Try a quality newspaper for a change.

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mum, croydon says...
3:22pm Thu 24 Jan 08

Anne, you're probably too busy looking out for a Brian Paddick lookalike to notice these things.
Seriously, when I've tried taking my offspring to local parks I have been put off by intimidating behaviour.By the way I have no time or inclination to read tabloids and you certainly don't need them with our local efforts. I tend to form my own opinions based on life experience rather than literature style news reports.

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Lisa, Croydon says...
7:08pm Thu 24 Jan 08

Regardless of who this child parents are and what they do and whether they are chavs or not, this is a child we are talking about! I hope he fully recovers.

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get your facts right, New Addington says...
7:54pm Thu 24 Jan 08

ANNE GILES wrote:
I walk my dog in different parks on a daily basis and yet cannot find any drug addicts, perverts and gangs. Where are they?? What parks is mum from croydon referring to? Not a single park in this borough is "filled" with anything. This "mum" obviously reads the tabloids. Try a quality newspaper for a change.
You obviously need your eyes testing, because 95% of parks are overrun with teenagers in groups, and whilst NOT all of them cause trouble, would you want to let your child play there with them hanging around? Drug paraphenalia is often found in and around parks, all over the borough. Perverts I cannot comment on, because as a father to 2 girls and 2 boys, if I HAD found a pervert in the parks when I take my kids there, I would not be writing this now, (at least I dont think they allow computers in prison? dont know, never been there and never want to)


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ANNE GILES, SELSDON says...
10:34pm Thu 24 Jan 08

Perhaps the one who needs his eyes testing is you. A retired Superintendent from Croydon Police Station walks his dog in one of the parks where I go, and he assures me that he has never seen any of the things you seem to think are happening. The only gangs we see are nice boys and girls going to school and coming from school, and other pleasant dog walking individuals. the only negative thing there is occasional graffiti on the benches, but it is very rare. His eyesight is extremely good, by the way.

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mum, croydon says...
9:38am Fri 25 Jan 08

Anne, from previous comments you obviously live at the better end of the borough. The area the story applies to is as you know not perhaps the nicest part of the borough.Even in Croydon we have the North /South divide.I hope you have reported this sighting of a member of the constabulary(retired or not) to the guinness book of records! We do occassionally see a PCSO around here but that is all.

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M.A, says...
1:45pm Sat 26 Jan 08

Jimmy, I totally agree that taking small children out in a busy town centre is unadvisable, but for totally different reasons to you, I'm sure. Unlike you, I am local to the area. The spot where the accident occurred is a residential area. The boy was with his mother and other family members. Let's hope you are infertile as if you have had children, God knows what sort of childhood you would inflict on them- stuck away indoors, no exercise etc etc. You clearly have no understanding of the way children operate. By the way, my children are all well adjusted, happy, confident, occasionally naughty. We sometimes take them out after dark - after all it's not illegal. They also sometimes ignore my instructions, as all children will do. If I was in the same position as this mother, I would hope that idiots like you would keep your neanderthal opinions on child-rearing to yourselves. Were you dropped on you head by your own mother, perhaps?

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ANNE GILES, SELSDON says...
5:28pm Sat 26 Jan 08

Here in Selsdon, Sanderstead and Forestdale we see Sergeants, Constables and PCSOs patrolling all these areas on a regular basis. I see them also in the Town Centre, along with Neighbourhood Enforcement Officers. I also see on a regular basis the Council's Mobile Enforcement Unit vans. If people North of the Borough are unable to see police officers, then perhaps a trip to a good optician for a pair of glasses or contact lenses might help???

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mum, croydon says...
11:18pm Sat 26 Jan 08

You're right Anne, a trip to the opticians may result in my seeing one of the constabulary as my nearest optician is in the town centre!
I do see pcso's but that is all. As you know their powers are limited and so they don't fill me with confidence. I'm sure we pay a similar if not same council tax so I would love to see this situation be a little fairer.

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The warning sign - covered in graffiti - after the accident The warning sign - covered in graffiti - after the accident

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