Protecting Vulnerable Children on the Rail Network This Christmas
Every five minutes, a child runs away in the UK – and many use public transport to do so. This festive season, we’ve partnered with Railway Children to raise awareness and encourage everyone to look up and spot the signs.
Our campaign centres on Your Presence Is Presents Enough, a short film created by BAFTA award-winning director Daisy-May Hudson. At five minutes long, it reflects the rate at which a child runs away and introduces Railway Children’s AT RISK acronym (Attitude, Time of day, Relationship, Instinct, Safety, Keeping a low profile) to help identify vulnerable children and know what to do.
To amplify the message, we’re sharing the film across our channels, playing announcements at stations, and installing signage along the West Coast Main Line. Social content and creative activations – including “Reserved for Runaways” bench signs and QR-linked stories – will run throughout December.
Our goal is simple: make the unseen visible and protect children at risk. If you spot a child who seems AT RISK, tell station staff or text British Transport Police on 61016.
To raise further awareness, we’re distributing 500 baubles across the West Coast as part of social media activity titled ‘Lost bauble’ encouraging customers travelling onboard our trains and through our managed stations to find one. Made from wood and featuring an illustration of a lonely young person on the railway at winter, each bauble represents a child that has run away from home. The wooden decoration has a label attached reminding people what to do if they spot a child at risk, as well as a QR code to watch Your Presence Is Presents Enough.
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