My scars are my art: Woman ‘electrocuted’ on rail track at 15, suffering severe burns, returns to station for first time

A woman who was “electrocuted” on live rail tracks when she was a teenager, suffering third-degree burns, has returned to the station for the first time in around a decade and now views her scars as her “art”.

Dinusha Ilanperuma, now 26, a content creator from Surrey, dropped one of her high heels onto the tracks at Shepperton train station in September 2015 after drinking at a house party for the first time.

Being “drunk” and not thinking clearly, she jumped down onto the tracks to get her shoe and accidentally stepped on the live line, meaning she was “electrocuted and there were sparks coming out” of her body.

Having suffered third-degree burns, she was taken to hospital, where she had at least five skin graft surgeries, and she underwent physiotherapy afterwards to regain the movement in her left arm because of severe nerve damage.

Dinusha believes there was a “guardian angel” looking out for her that day and she feels becoming a mother has since given her the confidence to embrace her body and scars.

Now, more than a decade after the accident, Dinusha is advocating for body positivity and greater awareness of the potential dangers at train stations.

Speaking about her message to others, Dinusha told PA Real Life: “I always had the mentality of: ‘No-one is going to love me because I’m different to most girls, I’ve got scars everywhere’.

“I felt very worthless… but that’s a bad mentality to have because someone is out there who will love you for you.

“Now I think my scars are beautiful – they’re like my art.”

On September 11 2015, Dinusha, then 15, attended a house party where she drank alcohol for the first time.

She said she was told to leave the party for being too intoxicated and ended up at Shepperton train station with her best friend at the time, trying to get home.

She had taken her heels off along the way and, while walking near to the platform edge, she said she dropped one of the shoes onto the tracks – just minutes before the 9.11pm train was due to arrive.

“I didn’t even look at the time when the train was coming,” Dinusha said.

“It was just one of the moments where I thought, ‘Oh, my shoe is on the floor, I’m going to go and get it’.”

Dinusha said some boys from school were at the station as well, and one of them urged her to “come back up” onto the platform as the train was “two minutes away”.

She then stepped to grab the boy’s hand but said “everything started shaking” – she had unknowingly stepped on the live line.

“I slammed to the floor and my whole body started shaking,” she said.

“I got electrocuted and there were sparks coming out of different sides of my body – that’s what I was told by the people who were there.

“I passed out but I could just hear my best friend at the time screaming, and I actually thought at that moment that I was dying.”

A short time afterwards, Dinusha remembers waking up, still on the tracks, and she believes she saw a shadow-like figure telling her to wake up.

“I had this shadow in my head, it was like a human shadow, but just a voice telling me to get up,” she continued.

“I don’t know if it was in my head or I just saw it because I was drunk.

“I’ve always tried to work it out, but I do believe there was some sort of guardian angel telling me to (wake up).”

When she came around, she said she heard her phone “pinging” next to her body, but she realised she could not move her left arm to reach it.

Being severely “burned”, she said she “passed out again” and woke up while in the ambulance and then again in hospital around two days later.

With third-degree burns across her body, Dinusha said she had at least five skin graft surgeries, where healthy skin is taken from another part of the body and placed over the wound.

Dinusha said one of the burns on her arm was so severe that the flesh and bone inside was visible, and she was told by doctors that she may never have use of her left arm because of nerve damage.

“They were either going to use my own skin or cow skin as, apparently, it feels the same,” Dinusha said.

After choosing to use her own skin, Dinusha was given the option to use samples from her bottom or left thigh, and she opted for the latter.

“I knew if I didn’t like it later on in life, I could always get it covered with a tattoo – but to be honest, they are my tattoos,” she said.

“I originally wanted to get it all tattooed and covered, but now I see my scars as my tattoos, my art.”

Following the surgeries, Dinusha said she had physiotherapy sessions for six months, where she did exercises to regain the movement in her left fingers, hand and arm.

After these six months, she could move one of her fingers and, another year later, she had regained full strength and movement – but she struggled with the emotional and mental impacts.

“I didn’t even think about the healing, I was just so numb to it,” Dinusha explained.

“Even my friends sometimes said I would just brush it off, I wouldn’t really talk about it… but when it came to my adult life, I thought, ‘What is actually going on with me?’.”

For months after the accident, Dinusha said she wore longer clothes to “hide” her scars and she felt self-conscious.

However, when she gave birth to her first child in 2018, who was born prematurely at 25 weeks weighing just 400g – less than “a bag of sugar” – she said her mindset changed as both nearly did not survive.

Motherhood gave her a new perspective on life and, as the years went by, she started being “more open” about her story.

“I started questioning myself, thinking, ‘Why did I go through all of that? What did I do to deserve all this?’,” she said.

“But then it all just hit me and I thought, ‘Wow, I am so lucky to be here’, because I should have been dead.”

Dinusha has since has a second child, now six, and said she has learned to “stand up for (herself)” and be proud of her body.

She no longer hides her scars and, following the 10-year anniversary last September, Dinusha decided she wanted to revisit the station for the first time since the accident.

Visiting the scene with PA Real Life this year, Dinusha said it was incredibly emotional – but she now feels stronger than ever and said the experience has given her closure.

“I feel like I’ve learned to love myself,” she said.

“I went years hating myself and wanting to be this perfect girl that everyone sees on Instagram… but I’ve had to work on myself, and I won’t let anyone take that away from me.”

She wants to encourage others to be body positive and embrace their scars, and she wants to raise awareness of the dangers at train stations.

Reflecting on the last decade, Dinusha said: “I always tried my best to come across confident, even though inside it was affecting me.

“As a child, I went through so much, from my accident to then being pregnant at 17 and having the smallest baby in the UK at the time.

“I just felt like there was something out there, telling me, ‘You need to keep going and forget about everything that you went through, change your mindset and be grateful that you’re here’.

“Life is too short to be upset about it every day and miserable. Instead, just live your life to the fullest, talk about it, be open about it and always try to love yourself even if you do have days where you don’t.”

Tom Desmond, operations director for Network Rail Wessex Route and South Western Railway, said: “Dinusha’s story highlights the serious risks associated with going onto the railway.

“We are thankful that she is still with us and using her experience to warn others of the dangers the railway can pose if used incorrectly.

“Much of the South Western Railway network is powered by the electric third rail, which is always live. If you accidentally drop something onto the track, please speak to a member of staff or use a help point if the station is unstaffed.

“It is far safer to be temporarily parted from your property than to take the risk.

“We want everyone to get home safe every day. That is why we are working to promote rail safety from an early age, with this vital topic being added to the school curriculum next year so young people understand the dangers and stay safe around the railway.”