RAILWAY DRAMA

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23719, 27 July 1940, Page 2 (Supplement)

RAILWAY DRAMA

Trapped Boy Snatched to Safety

SE VEX-YEAR-OLD boy who had been evacuated to the country, got his foot wedged under one of the rrsils of the main London-Midland-Scottish line at Prestatyn, North Wales. Trains were signalled in both directions. This is the story of the next few minutes. Mr. Charles Higgs, Prestatyn billeting officer, was told that a boy was missing from his billet. After a search in the dark he found him trapped on the railway line. Screech of Wheels His left foot was fast under one of the inside rails of the track and the more he struggled the less able he was to get free. Above winked the green signal lights. Mr. Higgs started to scoop away the gravel under the lino with his hands. In the distance he heard the roar of

a train, but he kept on scraping and tugging. The train thundered nearer.

Then with a screech of wheels it passed a few feet away from thorn on the other line.

A few seconds later Mr. Higgs heard the whistle of the train coming in the other direction.

He looked up and saw the light on the front of the engine a few hundred yards awav.

"I made a superhuman effort to drag the boy clear," ho said in an interview.

"To my intense relief I was able to free his foot a few seconds before a goods train rushed past."