Boys relive the death of a friend

Apr 28 2004 By Mary Murtagh, Daily Post

A GROUP of schoolboys yesterday described how they saw their eight-year-old friend electrocuted on a railway line.

The friends of Stephen Nesbitt (left) told an inquest into the death of the Bootle youngster how an afternoon playing during the summer holidays turned to tragedy.

Stephen, of Hornby Road, died after touching a live rail at Oriel Road station, last August 16.

The eight and nine-year-olds, who gave their evidence via video, said they had been playing and joking about outside Bootle Town Hall before they made their way to the station.

The friends said they had seen teenagers they knew cross over the tracks several times before Stephen attempted to do the same.

In a statement read out at the inquest a 17-year-old, who took part in the prank, said: "We were messing about on the platform. We crossed the lines two or three times.

"I don't know why we did it. It was stupid. I ran across the tracks and up onto the Liverpool platform."

He told the inquest he had crossed the tracks before, but had not been back to the station since Stephen's death.

In video evidence, Stephen's friends said he had been encouraged to cross the tracks by a 16-year-old girl they knew, despite their pleas for him to use the underpass.

His nine-year-old friend said: "Stephen was saying 'shall I jump?' and we were saying 'don't'. She told him to jump and said 'go on'.

"Stephen fell, slipped and landed on the black line. He was still talking, going 'help' and he couldn't move his arm off."

Stephen's friends ran to raise the alarm and alerted staff.

One of Stephen's nine-year-old friends said in evidence via video link: "I was by the train station and Stephen was on the other side.

"I crossed the line and Stephen jumped down and he fell on to the track. The black line has got electricity in it.

"He tripped over and hit the black line and I could see smoke. He fell backwards and his head landed on the black line."

The youngster said he ran out of the station because he was scared.

None of the youngsters giving evidence at the two-day jury inquest could be identified for legal reasons.

The inquest continues.