Unscheduled stop prevents train hitting drunk

This was the dramatic moment when a drunken man escaped certain death after falling on to a railway track.



In an extremely lucky twist, the express train was slowing down to make an unscheduled stop at Olton and the driver was able to stop just in time - 20 yards from where the man was lying.

The man was spotted on the track as the Birmingham to London train, operated by Chiltern Railways, approached Olton station, in Solihull, at around 6pm on Saturday.

The driver and the platform guard were unsure how badly injured the man was so called an ambulance and British Transport Police, rather than attempting to move him themselves.

As they waited for an ambulance and British Transport Police to arrive, the man got up himself and stumbled away from the scene.