YouTube prankster's 'Bird Box challenge' on Bridgend railway

Footage of a YouTube prankster doing the "Bird Box challenge" inspired by a Netflix horror film has prompted a police warning.

A video shared on Ben Phillips' YouTube channel of his partner Elliot Giles blindfolded on a railway line in Bridgend has been viewed 200,000 times.

Sandra Bullock stars in Bird Box as a mother who wears a blindfold to avoid seeing mysterious forces that cause people to take their own lives.

The act has become an online challenge.

British Transport Police (BTP) is investigating the footage and said Mr Giles was "quite literally playing a game of life and death".

Mr Phillips shouts: "Where are you going, there's a train coming", but Mr Giles remains on the tracks while the sound of an oncoming train and a warning bell can be heard.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: "Not only is it shocking to see that someone is willing to put their life in danger by blindfolding themselves and walking onto a live railway, it's illegal and a criminal act.

"The railway is full of hidden dangers and we cannot overstate how dangerous it is to trespass. Trains travel at incredibly high speed and can often approach silently."

Netflix has also urged fans not to take part in the challenge which involves attempting everyday tasks while blindfolded. It has resulted in injury, with some people crashing cars and running into walls.

Mr Phillips' video also shows Mr Giles walking on stepping stones across a river and along the top of a wall.

There were 9,855 trespass incidents on Britain's railways in 2017-18, police figures show.