CCTV footage of the Isle of Grain crossing

Kent has seen the highest number of level crossing crimes in the South East outside London.

A major campaign throughout the region saw a marked police van, using cutting-edge camera technology, parked near crossings.

One of the most surprising facts uncovered was women aged between 50 and 65 years old were the biggest culprits.

But Kent had one of the highest incident rates - with 195 offences, or 17 per cent of the 1,131 total.

Only Greater London had a higher level of offences between January and April this year - with 46 per cent of the total.

Jumping the red lights was the offence committed by the most people (61 per cent), followed by stopping on a box junction (27 per cent).

Dangerous driving and careless driving accounted for two per cent of offences each, and four per cent of prosecutions were for pedestrians who did not follow the rules.

Dyan Crowther, Network Rail's director of operational services, said: "The camera vehicle has proved what we always believed, that far too many people are misusing level crossings.

"Although the initial trend shows that older people are responsible for the highest number of offences, all ages misuse crossings.

"Our aim is to deter them all rather than prosecute. We hope those caught will change their behaviour and along with our other activities we'll see a reduced impact on passenger services and the cost of these crimes on the running of the railway."

To date, the van has carried out operations at 43 level crossings across the south east of England.