Joe Swash, Dancing on Ice Champion, is at the front of a new campaign to teach children about railway safety.
The Stay Safe With Thomas campaign has been launched by Network Rail and Thomas & Friends and is designed to give parents the tools to educate children about how to keep safe when travelling on the railway.
New research by Network Rail has revealed that only half of parents talk to their children about rail safety (49%). This is a big difference to road safety, where 97% say that they have spoken to their children about using roads safely.
Parents, however, have recognised the importance of rail safety, but a third have said they don't know how to have the conversation.
Network Rail and Thomas & Friends have worked together to create the Stay Safe with Thomas book to help parents approach the topic.
As part of the campaign, Joe Swash features in a short film reading the Stay Safe With Thomas book.
You can watch the film by clicking here.
Father to two children and two stepchildren, Joe admits that rail safety is not a topic he has explored much: “Rail safety is something I knew Stacey and I should talk to the kids about, but we thought it was something they might learn at school when they are a bit older. We had talked about being careful when out near the road, but even though we use the railways often, we didn't really know where to start and we didn't want to scare them.
“Our kids love Thomas the Tank Engine and when we read the book, they loved it. The activities at the end got them thinking too and it was such a gentle way to get the message across.”
Allan Spence, head of public and passenger safety at Network Rail said: “Last year there were over 3500 incidents involving young people going onto the track². That's dangerous and illegal. We hope that by encouraging parents to start these conversations earlier, we will see more young people growing up aware of the risks and using the railway safely.”
“We are delighted Joe has joined us to help show parents how easy these conversations with children can be, by just reading to them or showing them a short film with a much-loved TV character.”
You can download the book as an e-book for free by clicking here.
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Hmmmm is he really that good on telling bedtime stories to children. Don’t get me wrong but is he really? Cringe.
I think he’s ideal for bedtime stories on the CBBC and Pop Tiny. Can’t complain he’s a good actor & knows how to be funny.
Being A Life-Long Fan of the Renound Thomas & Friends/Railway Series Franchise… I Am Truly Impressed with this Safety Informative Online Video.
It’s so interesting to see one of the latest voice-over cast members Joe Swash (the voice of latest recurring engine character ‘Sonny’) reading that new & latest book ”Stay Safe With Thomas”… of whom this year also Celebrates 75 Years of the T&F/Rly Series Franchise.
Clever Narration & Voices Mr Swash Provided in this Online Video.