Northern offers £1,000 reward for help identifying suspect who shot at Leeds train with air gun pellet

Train operator Northern is offering a £1,000 reward for the name of a suspected “air gun pellet attacker”.

The attack, which is being investigated by the British Transport Police (BTP), saw a person target a rush hour train from Leeds to Bradford Forster Square on Monday last week (May 22) with air gun pellets near Kirkstall Forge station just before 5.30pm, the operator said.

The attack came just days after BBC One’s Frontline Fightback programme featured another Northern train highlighting a driver who had his train cab window hit by a brick back in 2022.

According to the company, it was one of 69 Northern services struck by objects in the previous 12 months. Attacks included 42 bricks, stones and rocks thrown from bridges and railway embankments and 27 “substantial items” deliberately placed on the tracks for trains to collide with.

Northern has recently installed 7,000 HD CCTV cameras on its trains which can be viewed by the BTP in real time to ensure the safety of staff and passengers.

Tony Baxter, regional director for Northern, said: “It’s very fortunate that no-one was injured. It beggars belief that anyone thinks it’s ‘fun’ to target a train in this way. 

“Anything involving shattered glass whilst trains are travelling at high speed can be very dangerous. We hope this reward will encourage anyone who knows the perpetrator of this attack to come forward with information for British Transport Police.”

If you have any information, contact the British Transport Police by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.