YOUR April 6 edition carried the story of two persons who trespassed in a railway tunnel near Bradford, and were struck by a train. One died and the other sustained serious head injuries.

In the Twenty4seven supplement the same day, there was a feature for the next episode of a TV series called Life On Mars. It included a photograph of an actor standing in the middle of a railway track, just inside a tunnel entrance.

It is very regrettable that TV programme publicists should send images like this to the media, also that the media should choose to accept and use them. It gives completely the wrong message to the public.

As a recently retired rail engineer with 39 years service, I know only too well what the aftermath of trespass incidents can involve.

A traumatised driver who was sitting at the front of a speeding train, which he or she can neither stop quickly or steer clear. The rail staff who must walk along half a mile or more of track, scraping bloody body parts into a plastic bag, and placing them in an undertaker's shell coffin. Not much left there, for grieving relatives to view. And the rail customers who have their travel plans seriously disrupted.

This Easter break, the British Transport Police and train operators have issued their customary anti-trespass school holiday message. Let us hope that all responsible media editors will help, by refusing to publish images which undermine this vital safety message.

Paul Hepworth, Windmill Rise, Holgate, York.