THE heartbroken best friend of Toni Hannant last night spoke of the moment the teenager was killed by a train.

Seconds before the tragedy, the 14-year-old had been laughing and singing as she walked next to the main East Coast railway line in Blackhall Colliery, County Durham.

But her life ended when she was hit by a train on Friday evening.

Her best friend, Natalie Rochester, said she was speaking out as a warning to other youngsters tempted to trespass on railway lines.

Natalie, 13, who lives in East Street, Blackhall Colliery, told how Toni and a number of friends had been singing and dancing to music on their mobile phones.

"There were about 20 people out that night, but about six were coming along the railway line to meet a friend," she said.

"Everyone was walking along the side of the fence but Toni was walking along next to the track."

Natalie said that the next moment "everyone was shouting 'Here's a train, here's a train' and everyone ran towards the fence, but Toni didn't.

"I turned around and the train went past and all I could hear was everyone shouting and screaming that Toni had been knocked over.

"Toni was just lying there and people were phoning for an ambulance and her mam and everyone came down. People were feeling for her pulse but there was no pulse there."

Natalie described her friend as a "lovely girl with a great personality", adding: "She was perfect, everyone liked her."

At Wellfield School, where Toni was a pupil, headteacher Jennifer Elliott said yesterday: "The whole school is deeply saddened and shocked by the sad news of Toni Hannant's sudden and tragic death on Friday evening."

She described Toni as a well-liked pupil who was a good friend to a number of children.

"Although she was quiet, her teachers say that she was hard-working and was willing to help others," she said.

And she revealed: "On Friday, Toni had been chosen to work with a year seven tutor group during a citizenship day we held at the school."

Mrs Elliott also described how the teenager had recently been awarded a certificate as Student of the Term at East Durham College for her work on a part-time hairdressing course she was taking.

She confirmed that over the weekend, contact had been made with a number of agencies and services, the local education authority and with Wellfield's school counsellor.

The tragedy has rekindled memories of another rail accident during the Easter holidays this year in Darlington when two teenagers died.

That tragedy led to the launch of The Northern Echo's No Messin' campaign aimed at highlighting the dangers of playing on railway lines.

A spokesman at Northern Rail, which runs the train service involved in Toni's accident, said the latest tragedy served again to emphasise the dangers of playing on railway lines.

An inquest into Toni's death will be opened today at Chester-le-Street Magistrates' Court.