A COUPLE whose young son was killed on the railway line at Strood station will have to wait another month to find out if two companies will be convicted for allegedly breaching health and safety laws.

Sheila and Mark Wood could not face attending the hearing at Medway Magistrates' Court on Thursday and stayed at home.

The couple, from Strood, lost their four-year-old son Bobby Wood, in June, 1999 when he strayed into the railway station's yard and onto the lines. He died from his injuries.

An inquest later returned a verdict of accidental death and the Crown Prosecution Service decided they did not have enough evidence to make a case for corporate manslaughter.

Counsel for the Health and Safety Executive, Oba Nsugbe, QC, outlined the case to the magistrates and requested a 28-day adjournment.

Counsel for Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd, Mark Scoggins and Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Services Ltd, Prash Poppat QC, agreed and will return to court on June 12.

The two companies are facing charges of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974 for failing to ensure the safety of people not authorised to enter the premises. If found guilty, each faces up to a £25,000 fine.