Essex paper wins level crossing campaign

"We've done it!" said the headline in the Herts & Essex Observer in announcing that it had achieved victory in its campaign to make level crossing gates safer after two teenage girls had been killed. Olivia Bazlinton and Charlotte Thompson died last December as they used an unmanned crossing at Elsenham station in Essex. The paper immediately called for the gates to be locked when a train was due. Network Rail initially rejected the idea, claiming that it would make the crossing less safe and even urged the Observer to stop its campaign. But it organised a petition and kept up its "Get it locked" campaign and Network Rail has now agreed to introduce a locking system and to build a footbridge. The girls' families have thanked the paper for its efforts. (Via Herts & Essex Observer)