Formby resident has concerns for the insecure gate at Fisherman's Path crossing

Fisherman's Path has again been brought to our attention for its insecure and unsafe gate that poses to be dangerous following a number of deaths. 

We have been contacted by a Formby resident who uses the crossing regularly, he has sent in a number of complaints to Network Rail for the gates to be fixed, which have resulted in only temporary changes being made to the gate, meaning that the gate remains unsafe.

In the letter from the Formby resident, it said:

 "I feel I need to bring to your attention the incorrect and shoddy work being done to two level crossing gates, in Formby ( Liverpool ) called Fishermans path."

"The crossing has claimed many lives over the years and the new gates that were fitted have a problem with the latch. The people you send to constantly repair the gates do not seem to understand the fact that you cannot tighten the bolts on a hollow section without placing a suitable collar in the hollow section."

"I had the opportunity to speak to people working on the gates recently and suggested a collar needs to be fitted in the hollow section to stop the section collapsing. Somebody with only limited engineering practice should know that with the amount of times they are called out to fix the latches something is wrong."

"This needs urgent and professional attention. The rail  line is very busy, with trains every 15 minutes. The crossing is a very popular route to the pine woods and beach for families, walkers, runners and cyclists."

"I enclose two photos which clearly shows the state of the repairs.

A gate left open through no fault of the user is an accident waiting to happen."

A person was killed on 21st January 2016 and also student Yasmin Jones was killed on the 27th August 2014, by a train on the crossing after a brave attempt to try and rescue her dog from the train track. Following the young woman's death, rail chief's were expected to close Fisherman's Path crossing after it emerged that trains are only visible eight seconds before they pass, however this never happened.

Plans to build a bridge over the train line at the Fisherman’s Path level crossing following Miss Jones’ tragic death were shelved after council chiefs opposed them in Spring 2015.

Please take extra care when using the crossing especially with pets and children.