March 28, 2022 8.30 pm This story is over 24 months old

DB Cargo UK launch investigation after girl ‘injured by metal disc spinning off train’

“We sincerely regret that this unfortunate incident happened”
Maira said her daughter was injured by a "injured by large heavy metal disc spinning off a freight train".

DB Cargo UK has opened an investigation and said “we sincerely regret that this unfortunate incident happened” after a seven-year-old girl was ‘injured by large heavy metal disc spinning off a freight train’ at Swinderby station.

The girl’s mum – nurse Maira Cooke – said she was waiting on platform two at Swinderby station with her daughter, and 13-year-old son, for a train to Nottingham at around 8.50am on Saturday, March 19.

While they were waiting at the platform Maira says her daughter fell to the floor and was screaming after being hit with a heavy metal disc. She says it left her with blacks marks on her jeans and her legs covered in cuts and bruises.

Maira said this metal ‘heavy and jagged’ disc hit her daughter.

Maira said her daughter was left with cuts and bruises all over both legs.

Maira’s son found the ‘heavy and jagged’ metal disc next to his sister soon after, which they believe had spun off the train and hit her. She had an x-ray at Lincoln County Hospital, which thankfully didn’t show any fractures or issues, and she was due to return on Monday, March 28 for a consultant to review her injury.

Network Rail told both Maira and The Lincolnite the freight company – DB Cargo UK – would be carrying out a full investigation.

A spokesman for DB Cargo UK told The Lincolnite: “We sincerely regret that this unfortunate incident happened and would like to wish the young girl who was injured a full and speedy recovery.

“Safety is our number one priority and we have since launched a full investigation. DB Cargo UK regularly operates over 600 freight trains a week on the UK rail network, all of which are subject to rigorous inspections and safety checks, so thankfully incidents like this are an extremely rare occurrence.”

Maira will be taking her daughter back to hospital on March 28 for the consultant to assess her injuries.

Maira wants to speak out about the incident to raise awareness to other parents and she previously said: “We were shocked when its first happened and now we are concerned that if it had been a baby or a toddler it could have killed them.

“We can’t speculate exactly what happened as we are waiting for the investigation.

“I want to raise awareness that these things can happen and to be aware to stand well back, and if you have a pram to face it the other way. We were stood far back and are hoping it was just a freak accident, but it is still very concerning.

“I just want assurance that this will not happen again where a child is injured.”