A TEENAGE girl was killed after she was struck by a train on the North-East coast last night.

The 14-year-old was hit by a train travelling at 60mph on an east coast railway line at Blackhall Colliery, County Durham, at about 6.30pm.

Officers from British Transport Police were at the scene last night trying to establish how the accident happened.

It is believed the girl was playing with friends and may have been trying to cross the line to reach a den.

Her death has echoes of a double tragedy in Darlington when two teenage boys were killed when they were hit by a train last Easter.

That led to The Northern Echo launching its No Messin' campaign, to highlight the dangers of playing near railway lines.

The girl's identity was not being released last night because relatives had not been informed.

Inspector Graham Bridges, of British Transport Police, said last night: "All the indications at the moment are that this is a very tragic accident, which is obviously compounded by the time of year, coming so close to Christmas.

"We don't know exactly what happened. There were some young people at the scene who are being comforted.

"It's very distressing for all concerned, but we are trying to establish exactly what has gone on."

The accident happened near East Street, in Blackhall Colliery. The railway line runs along the length of the former mining village, near the North Sea coast.

The train, with 12 passengers on board, was travelling from Middlesbrough to Sunderland and Newcastle.

All services on the line were stopped immediately, but trains began to start moving slowly at about 9pm.

Last Easter, Stuart Adams, 15, and Lee Mullis, 14, died while playing on railway tracks in Darlington.

They were part of a group of more than 20 youngsters who had gathered under the Five Arches Bridge, in the town, on Good Friday, the first day of the school holidays.

They were killed instantly when the 8.30pm Manchester Airport to Newcastle service crashed into them.

The boys had been friends since primary school. Lee was a promising golfer who was due to represent England and had hopes of turning professional.

Stuart had been offered a plumbing job from his work experience. Friends described him as a talented footballer.

At their inquests, pathologist Dr Jonathan Hoffman said that alcohol had been found in their blood and urine, amounting to more than twice the drink-drive limit.

After the inquest, Trevor Adams, Stuart's father, demanded action to end the culture of binge drinking among youths.

He said: "We have to make certain nothing like this happens again to a family."

The jury, under the direction of the coroner, recorded a verdict of accidental death after a hearing attended by dozens of family and friends.

Coroner Andrew Tweddle said it had been a particularly distressing inquest and said the case should serve as a warning.

Train driver Andy Scott, from Morpeth, Northumberland, fought back tears as he recalled the moment he saw a figure in front of his train, and the moment he had struck it.

He said: "Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of some movement and saw someone basically just run, not in the upright position, in more of a crouching position from the left-hand side straight in front of the train on to the line. There was nothing I could do."

Mr Tweddle stressed there was no evidence the boys had been playing a game of "chicken".

PC James Calvert, the first police officer on the scene, told the inquest the boys' friends had run to him, pulled at his clothing, hysterical, as he arrived at the bridge.

One boy from the group showed him where the boys had scaled a 6ft fence to get onto the tracks, where he found the bodies.