Company handed £3 million fine after a teenage boy was electrocuted

A company has been fined nearly £3 million pounds after a teenage boy was badly burned at a railway depot in Gateshead. The teenager suffered life-changing injuries when he came too close to overhead lines carrying 25,000 volts.

The company which ran the yard, DB Cargo, was found guilty of breaching Health and Safety laws and was told 'systematic failings' led to the boy's injuries.

It happened in June 2014, when the 13-year-old boy and three friends went to the Tyne Yard rail depot in Birtley.

The court heard they went to visit a disused signal box, known to local children as 'the haunted house', then wandered further into the yard where a train was waiting, ready for departure later that evening. The two boys climbed up one of the wagons and were electrocuted by the overhead power lines, suffering enormous shocks.

An 11-year-old escaped with minor injuries but the 13-year-old suffered burns to 80% of his body, both legs had to be amputated from the knee and he lost seven fingers from his hands.

• In a statement, DB Cargo's Head of Safety and Operations, David Ethell said:

• Ian Prosser, HM Chief Inspector of Railways said: