A 12-year-old boy was killed on train tracks after playing a "flip the bottle" game and slipping on a wet sleeper as he fell onto the high voltage live lines, an inquest heard today.
James Myers was playing the bottle game with a friend on Bedford Road in Bootle when h e decided to climb up railings and drop down from a bridge onto the tracks.
But when the youngster was retrieving the bottle, the recent rain meant he slipped on a damp wooden sleeper and stumbled onto the 630-votage current line.
READ MORE: Friend desperately tried to save boy after tragic game went wrong
Tragically, he was electrocuted and died.
Today, an inquest heard how James was attempting the "flip the bottle" challenge, a craze which became popular in 2016, and involves tossing a bottle with liquid in the air and trying to make it land on its base again.
But the container was accidentally thrown onto the line, on the evening of Monday, October 14, 2019.
He waited for a train to go past, the coroner's officer said, and then attempted to gain access to the track, shimmying up a 6ft railing, getting himself onto a stone parapet above, and then dropped down from the overhead metal bridge to reach the tracks.
But he slipped and fell onto the live lines, which caused "catastrophic" injuries, Bootle Town Hall heard.
Detective Sergeant Ian Henderson, from British Transport Police, said James and his friend had intended to "produce a bottle flipping video", which "if successful, [if done on the railway line], would be a little more extreme."
The officer said there had been no serious injuries or fatalities at that Bedford Road spot in the years leading up to the tragedy, and that there were a number of obstacles to prevent people getting on the tracks.
The inquest heard how James' friend attempted to remove him from the line after he was injured, pulling at his clothes, and also attempted CPR.
But coroner Julie Goulding said: "With that kind of voltage, death is instantaneous, sadly this was a catastrophic fatal injury.
"James was out playing, having fun, but tragically slipped and fell on the live line.
At the time of the tragedy, locals told how James' desperate friend called to a man walking past with his dog, begging him: "Mister, mister, my friend's on the line, don't leave me!"
A nearby neighbour spoke to police on a mobile phone and tried to calm down the very upset pal.
Coroner Goulding described James as a "lively young 12-year-old boy, full of adventure and fun, and I'm sure that's how he'll be remembered."
The cause of death was given as electrocution and a conclusion of accident recorded.
Ms Goulding ended this morning's proceedings by telling James' parents - mum Sharon and dad Kevin, along with his two brothers, and other relatives who attended at Bootle Town Hall: "My deepest condolences for the loss you've had to face.
"I can only imagine how difficult today has been for you all."
