Boyfriend, 25, tried to walk 40 miles on railway line after a row

Fuming boyfriend, 25, who tried to walk 40 miles home to Cardiff on the London-Swansea railway line after a row with his girlfriend and held up trains for more than THREE hours is handed suspended sentence

• Callum Edwards, 25, tried to walk 40 miles home to Cardiff on railway line 
• He jumped on the tracks at Briton Ferry and was caught by police by Baglan 
• Court heard he had decided to trek back to his house after spat with girlfriend 
• Edwards, of Fairwater, pleaded guilty to obstructing an engine using a railway

A fuming boyfriend tried to walk 40 miles to his home in Cardiff on the London-Swansea railway line after a row with his girlfriend and held up trains for more than three hours.

Callum Edwards, 25, jumped on the tracks from his partner in Briton Ferry near Swansea after the spat in July last year as he attempted to trek home to Fairwater.

A court heard that all trains between Port Talbot and Bridgend were stopped, and police mounted a search operation to find him.

After more than three hours, Edwards was found by officers hiding in track-side bushes by Baglan railway station near Port Talbot.

The 25-year-old pleaded guilty to obstructing an engine using a railway at Swansea Crown Court. He was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course and abide by a three-month nightly curfew. 

Callum Edwards, 25, jumped on the tracks from his partner in Briton Ferry near Swansea after the spat in July last year as he attempted to trek home to Fairwater. A court heard that all trains between Port Talbot and Bridgend were stopped, and police mounted a search operation to find him. After more than three hours, Edwards was found by officers hiding in track-side bushes by Baglan railway station near Port Talbot

Judge Paul Thomas QC told Edwards that what he had done on the day in question was ‘wholly irresponsible’ and had caused huge inconvenience and disruption for many people.

Edwards has six previous convictions for seven offences, and at the time of the incident was subject to a community order imposed by magistrates in Cardiff in October 2020 for sending a series of abusive messages to a former partner.

Judge Thomas warned the defendant he had avoided immediate custody ‘by the skin of your teeth’, adding that if he committed any offence in the next two years he would be brought back to court and sent straight to prison.

Prosecutor Hannah George told the court Edwards told police he had been at his girlfriend’s house but had argued with her, and wanted to go home to Cardiff.

A Google Map view of Baglan railway station near Port Talbot

She said: ‘He said he hadn’t known the way to Cardiff but knew the railway tracks went that way so decided to walk home.’

Edwards estimated ‘at least’ five trains had passed him while he was walking.

Hywel Davies, for Edwards, said the defendant’s actions were the result of ‘sheer stupidity and flawed logic’.

He added that Edwards was currently living a ‘stable but fragile’ life, and had shared custody of his two young daughters.

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