A HIGH profile operation to catch railway vandals and trespassers red-handed has already proved a success.

Operation Scarecrow was launched last week by Railtrack and the British Transport Police, who are targeting vandalism blackspots during the summer school holidays.

Last week, a helicopter, in direct contact with response units on the ground, started to patrol the skies over Teesside to catch vandals and trespassers in the act.

Railtrack staff also patrolled trouble spots to support the helicopter campaign.

In the first few days of the operation ten people were caught on railway property in the Teesside area, including youngsters putting their lives in danger by using the tracks as a playground.

The culprits were caught by a thermal image camera on board the helicopter, which continually records and could be used to provide evidence in a prosecution.

There is an incident on Britain's railways every 15 minutes in daylight hours and vandalism costs the rail industry £26m a year.

So far this year, there have been 180 crimes committed on railways in the Teesside area.

A spokesman for the British Transport Police said the youngsters and their parents would be seen by officers.

Operation Scarecrow is one of a range of measures that Railtrack has introduced, including presenting live drama to more than 120,000 children, providing school packs and leaflet drops to people living near blackspots.