A RAILWAY line where two schoolboys were killed by a train was last night named as the national vandalism hotspot.

Darlington was the worst place for railway vandalism in England, Scotland and Wales last year, figures have revealed.

It was also the seventh-worst place for people trespassing on railway lines.

Meanwhile last night, distraught youngsters were still gathering close to the spot where the two boys were killed.

Friends of Stuart Adams, 15, and Lee Mullis, 14, told The Northern Echo that they had visited the site every day since the tragedy happened and would continue to do so until the funeral.

The teenagers were struck by an inter-city service from Manchester to Newcastle as they played on the East Coast Main Line, at the Five Arches bridge, on Friday night. They died instantly.

The Northern Echo has discovered that in the 48 hours after the boys died there were another 18 reports of trespassing on North-East railway lines.

Over the past five years, Darlington has appeared in the list of the 30 worst places for trespassing four times and in the list of vandalism hotspots twice.

The Railway Crime Report 2004 shows there were 34 incidents of vandalism in Darlington and 24 trespassing incidents - but the figures are likely to be higher because much of the trespassing goes unreported.

A spokeswoman for Network Rail, which maintains the fences installed to keep people off the tracks, said there would be a full investigation into the tragedy.

She also said that, in the past six months, there had been railway safety events at 20 Darlington schools.

But Kevin Nicholson, Darlington's youth MP, said he had never been told to stay away from the railways at school and was not surprised by the vandalism and trespass figures.

He said: "I can go over the back field at Firthmoor and get on to the railway line.

"When I was young I played on railway lines, but when the train was a dot in the distance I got off.

"You don't know why you do it. I think I was just bored."

Kevin, 16, who met Stuart and Lee at a youth club, added: "This was a truly horrific accident and the people that were there must be suffering now and for the rest of their lives. This hasn't just affected two people.

"I think every teenager in this town is feeling something. I send my deepest sympathies to their families."

Last night, youngsters explained why they continued to gather near the scene of the accident.

"We can't exactly go anywhere else until they get buried," said one 12-year-old boy.

"I knew Stuey since I was five. He used to live around the corner from me.

"They were the sweetest lads I ever met. They were funny as well. I have got some funny memories of them."

Another close friend of Stuart, aged 13, said: "We have come to remember them."

A handful of youngsters climbed the embankment at Five Arches bridge and stood overlooking the line.

A fence covered with flowers and tributes separated them from the high-speed trains.

They said the site was a place where youths sometimes came to meet and drink alcohol without being moved on by police.

"You can't really hang about in parks," said one boy.

"This is a place where we could come to meet up."

Floral tributes, photographs of the boys and cards line an area underneath the railway bridge.

Four girls from Haughton Community School laid a bouquet and told how they used to hang around with the two boys.

"They'd do anything for you," said one, aged 14.

"They always made you laugh and put a smile on your face.

"We are shocked. You don't think it's going to happen to your friends."