Top 10 most disturbing public information films including 'horrific' 70s classic

For generations of Brits, there was nothing scarier on TV than the public information films (PIFs) shown in and before cartoons. These government-made shorts were meant to keep kids safe - but often did it by scaring the life out of them. From slurry pits and severed limbs to nuclear fallout and ghostly narrators, these films were nightmare fuel disguised as education.

Whether they involved deadly train tracks or creepy cats meowing out warnings, their impact was unforgettable. Some saved lives. Others just traumatised a generation. Here's our countdown of the ten most disturbing public information films ever made in Britain - including the truly horrific 70s shocker that still haunts viewers to this day.

1. Apaches (1977)

Arguably the most traumatising of them all, Apaches follows a group of children roleplaying as Native American warriors on a working farm.

One by one, they die in horrifying accidents - crushed by a tractor, poisoned by chemicals, drowned in a slurry pit.

To make it worse, the film is narrated by one of the dead kids.

"I didn't know it was going to be me," he says, after watching his own death. Designed to warn children of rural hazards, it left a generation permanently scarred.

2. The Finishing Line (1977)

This surreal short pretends to be a school sports day - held on railway tracks.

Children are shown running, playing, and then being violently mown down by trains or wounded by sharp rails.

It ends with a bloody field and a death toll. The message is clear: playing near train tracks equals death.

So graphic it was quickly banned, The Finishing Line is still one of the most controversial PIFs ever made.

3. Lonely Water (1973)

Narrated by Donald Pleasence in full creepy Grim Reaper mode, this 90-second shocker features a hooded, ghost-like figure stalking kids who play near rivers and ponds.

As children drown on screen, the spirit solemnly intones, "I'll be back... back... back..." - a line that haunted viewers for decades.

It's credited with saving lives but at the cost of many sleepless nights.

4. Escalator Safety Film (1970s)

In this lesser-known but no less scarring short, a young girl drops her rag doll on an escalator.

As she tries to retrieve it, the doll gets gruesomely sucked into the mechanism, hair and all.

Though no humans are harmed, the implication is clear: follow it, and you'll be next. Many kids refused to use escalators after seeing this.

5. Children and Disused Fridges (1971)

In this animated nightmare, kids discover an abandoned fridge in a junkyard and one climbs inside during a game of hide-and-seek.

The door shuts. He never gets out. Suffocation by appliance became a very real fear for anyone who saw this chilling film, which helped lead to laws requiring fridge doors to be removed before disposal.

6. Charley Says (1973)

While less violent than others on this list, this series featured a meowing cat (Charley) warning a boy about dangers like matches, strangers, and broken glass.

The eerie music, simple animation and creepy cat noises stuck in children's brains far longer than intended.

Despite its seemingly gentle tone, Charley has been the stuff of mild childhood nightmares ever since.

7. Protect and Survive (1975)

This Cold War-era PIF explained how to survive a nuclear attack, with all the warmth of a tax form.

Calm voiceovers described how to dig fallout shelters, handle radiation burns, and dispose of corpses.

The robotic delivery made it all the more chilling. At a time when nuclear war felt imminent, these short films didn't comfort - they terrified.

8. Robbie (1979)

Robbie is a young boy who loves football - until he chases a ball onto railway tracks and is hit by a train.

We later see him hospitalised and disfigured, begging others not to make the same mistake.

The brutal realism, complete with bloodied bandages and flashbacks of the impact, made this a staple in British schools - and a lifelong fear-inducer.

9. Children and Ponds (1979)

This film highlighted just how fast a child could drown in a garden pond.

In one scene, a toddler topples into the water while the mother is momentarily distracted.

The quiet horror of the mother turning back to find an empty garden was enough to instill a deep-rooted fear in any parent - or child with access to a fishpond.

10. Cow (2008)

One of the newer entries, Cow, was made to tackle the rising issue of texting while driving.

In excruciating detail, it shows a teenage driver lose control while reading a message, leading to a catastrophic crash that kills multiple people.

The aftermath is long, graphic, and filled with screams, blood, and bodies - a modern PIF with old-school trauma energy