Revealed: Animals who top the list of trespassers on the track on Wales and Western region

New figures released by Network Rail reveal that animals trespassed 246 times in the Wales & Western region in the 12 months to March 2024, ranging from sheep at one end of the scale to cats, foxes and even a solitary badger.

But by far the worst offenders are people with more than 5,500 incidents in the same period – one every 95 minutes.

When it comes to animals, would ewe believe it – sheep lead the way with 65 incidents during the year.

Deer, who tend to live in high numbers across rural, forested areas, which are commonly found alongside the railway, came in second place with 46 incidents.

Next in line were dogs (36) and swans (33), with cows (31) moo-ving into fifth spot.

Other incidents involved birds (10), pigs (7), cats (6), horses (5), foxes (4), with one incident each caused by a goat, dormouse and badger.

Dorian Davies, Network Rail’s Wales & Borders route programme manager for operations, said: “Owing to our largely rural geography, farm animals are our most disruptive animal trespassers, delaying services by breaking fence lines and getting onto the track. We regularly work with farmers across the route to try to minimise this impact.

“We’ve also seen a number of incidents involving dogs off leads, with near misses being caused by distracted owners chasing after them at level crossings. Dogs should always be kept on a short lead near the railway.

“But by far the greatest number of incidents of trespass on the railway is caused by people. Not only is trespass illegal, and anyone caught could face up to a £1,000 fine plus a criminal record, but it can potentially have a devastating impact to their families and those working on the railway.”

Trespass numbers across the whole network

Across the whole of Great Britain, animals trespassed 1,432 times in the same 12-month period, with the main offender being deer (349 recorded incidents).

Also causing plenty of issues on the tracks were sheep (177), birds (172), cows (156) and swans (143). Other dastardly villains across the country included dogs (135), cats (107), badgers (55), foxes (42) and in tenth place, pigs (38). Some of the more unexpected visitors have included bees, mice, hedgehogs and even a llama and a tortoise.

But none of them ranked anywhere near people, who caused more than 19,300 incidents ­– one every half-an-hour – across the network.

Helen Hamlin, Network Rail’s operations chief, said: “Trespassing on the railway is a serious offence that causes delays to thousands of trains every year and can be very costly for people – causing death and life changing injuries due to the railways many hidden dangers. This summer, when we see trespass at its peak our message is clear whoever you are: child, adult, dog walker, holiday maker or beast – stay off the tracks.”