Facts
A six-year-old boy went through a broken fence beside an electrified railway line and was badly burned. The Board knew the fence was broken and that people crossed there.
Issue
Does an occupier owe any duty to a child ?
Held
The Board was liable.
Principle
An occupier owes trespassers a 'duty of common humanity': where he knows of a serious danger and the likely presence of trespassers, he must take the steps a humane person would take, judged by his own resources.
Why it matters
Moved the common law away from Addie v Dumbreck. Persuasive in Sierra Leone.
Cited in these chapters
Cite this page
British Railways Board v Herrington [1972] AC 877 (Lanbuk) <https://www.lanbuk.com/llb/torts/cases/british-railways-board-v-herrington> accessed 31 October 2026
This summary is a Lanbuk study aid based on the generally known facts and reports of the case. It is not legal advice.