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'PLEASE SORT THIS OUT'

Heart-wrenching letter boy, 9, has written to Southern Rail begging workers to end strike so he can see more of his commuting parents

A TEAR-JERKING letter written by a nine-year-old boy begs Southern Railway bosses to end the chaotic strikes so his parents can have a "normal life".

Young Frankie reveals his parents are "coming home late every night" due to the industrial action.

Frankie (second right) with his parents Clive and Catherine and brother Henry has written to Southern begging for them to end the strike action which has disrupted his family's life
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Frankie (second right) with his parents Clive and Catherine and brother Henry has written to Southern begging for them to end the strike action which has disrupted his family's lifeCredit: CliveCott/Twitter
Frankie with his brother Henry, 7, and parents Clive and Catherine have been hugely impacted by the Southern strikes
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Frankie with his brother Henry, 7, and parents Clive and Catherine have been hugely impacted by the Southern strikesCredit: Facebook
The heartbreaking letter from nine-year-old Frankie pleading with union workers to end the strikes
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The heartbreaking letter from nine-year-old Frankie pleading with union workers to end the strikesCredit: CliveCott/Twitter
The message boards tell the story as Southern Railway told passengers almost all trains would not be running today, and there would only be a limited bus service
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The message boards tell the story as Southern Railway told passengers almost all trains would not be running today, and there would only be a limited bus serviceCredit: SWNS
Passengers cram into the train at Redhill, which has been one of the worst affected stations as a transport hub for a busy commuting town to London on the line between Gatwick and Brighton
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Passengers cram into the train at Redhill, which has been one of the worst affected stations as a transport hub for a busy commuting town to London on the line between Gatwick and BrightonCredit: SWNS

Aslef members walked out today as the long-running bitter dispute over train doors being operated by a driver without any conductor rumbles on.

Protesting union workers are also striking tomorrow and Friday.

Frankie, whose parents Clive and Catherine, both aged 45, commute daily into London from Hove, voiced his frustrations in the letter which his father shared on Twitter.

He wrote: "I am tired of them coming home late every night because of the rail strikes. They pay a lot of money for their season tickets/Oyster cards and are not getting value for their money.

"Surely there must be a way to solve the problems.

"At school we are taught to negotiate with each other to sort out our differences and clearly you have not learnt to do this."

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Clive, a marketing specialist for Racing UK from Hove, told that his son wrote the heartfelt plea "spontaneously".

Mr Cottrell explained that Frankie's letter particularly took him and his wife, Catherine, a fundraising director at UNICEF, by surprise as his son hadn't previously spoken about the strike action.

He said: "It is affecting families throughout. Kids not seeing parents as much as they should, people losing their jobs, people not getting to work when they should, people having to make other arrangements.

"It is just endless frustration."

Aslef members, seen here picketing at Redhill, are unhappy at pay and conditions and prospect of driver-only trains
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Aslef members, seen here picketing at Redhill, are unhappy at pay and conditions and prospect of driver-only trainsCredit: SWNS

A Twitter user replied to the letter: "A 9-year-old like Frankie could probably run the franchise better."

Southern has told passengers almost no trains will run on strike days, while services on other days will be affected by a continuing overtime ban.

Aslef members will also strike on January 24, 25 and 27.


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