A TEENAGE boy was electrocuted and set ablaze by overhead railway power cables in Ardrossan last night.

The 14-year-old was rushed to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where he is in a serious but stable condition with extensive burns.

Passers-by and drivers rushed to the boy’s aid after the accident, just after 7.40pm, helping to extinguish the flames.

One witness described the boy being thrown into the air and hitting the pedestrian barrier on the bridge.

Locals had earlier spotted a group of teenage boys dragging a broken rope swing over the railway bridge at Dalry Road.

A woman from nearby Stanley Avenue said: “They must have thought it would be a good laugh to throw it on to the power lines.

“I was sitting watching TV and I heard two loud bangs and the walls lit up with bright flashes.

“My neighbour ran round thinking our house had exploded. We ran up to the bridge and this teenage lad was on fire and was totally out of it.

“People were putting the flames out, but his jacket had completely melted.” The 14-year-old is thought to be a second year pupil at Ardrossan Academy from the top end of the town.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: “Officers from BTP and Police Scotland were called to the railway line near to Ardrossan South Beach railway station at 7.41pm on Tuesday, September 23, after a report of a person receiving injuries after apparently coming into contact with the overhead power lines.

“A local teenage boy has been taken by ambulance to hospital and is receiving treatment for injuries which are currently described as serious.

“The boy’s family is aware and officers are providing support to them.

“Investigations are ongoing to establish the full circumstances which led to the boy receiving his injuries.” Anyone with information which they believe may assist the investigation is asked to contact British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 40 50 40, or text 61016, quoting incident reference 552.