A SCHOOLBOY is seriously ill in hospital after being hit by up to 25,000 volts from an overhead power cable after climbing on to a train’s roof.
The 13-year-old was hit by a surge of up to 25,000 volts when his backpack touched an overhead power cable near Dalkeith, Midlothian.
British Transport Police renewed their warning to parents and children about the dangers on the tracks.
The boy, named locally as Max McGeary and a pupil at nearby Musselburgh Grammar School, suffered a serious leg injury.
He was taken by ambulance to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary following the incident at 6pm on Friday.
Max hit the headlines in 2003 when he was the first baby of the New Year to be born at the same hospital.
He is thought to have been injured when a freight train was stopped for a red light.
A spokeswoman for British Transport Police: “We were called to the line near Whitehall Road, Dalkeith, following reports that a 13-year-old boy had been injured.
“Officers attended and established the teenager had received an electric shock from an overhead cable, possibly after being on top of a freight train.
“The boy was rushed to hospital with a serious leg injury, which is not believed to be life-threatening.
“We are currently working to understand the full circumstances of what happened and how the teenager came by his injuries.”
The spokeswoman added: “We’d like to take this opportunity to remind people the railway is an extremely dangerous environment.
“Parents are urged to talk to their children about the hazards and remind them to stay away from the tracks.”
Last year transport police issued a warning after boys as young as five were spotted playing on rail tracks.
In one incident two boys aged about 10 avoided being hit by a high-speed train at Wester Hailes station in Edinburgh by seconds.
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