Network Rail and BB in dock over boy's death

Network Rail and Balfour Beatty face a Crown Court appearance after pleading guilty to breaching health and safety rules which led to the death of a four-year-old boy.

Bobby Wood died instantly after passing through an open gate and on to a live rail while playing near Strood station in Kent on 15 June 1999.

At last Thursday's hearing at Medway Magistrates' Court, representatives from Network Rail Infrastructure - formerly Railtrack - and Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Services entered guilty pleas to the charge that they failed to properly prevent public access to the line.

The case was transferred to the Crown Court, with a date for the two companies to appear yet to be decided.