Coroner calls for Crawley level crossing safety review

By alex morrison

A CORONER has called for an urgent review of safety at town level crossings after three railway deaths.

Dr David Skipp will ask police and railway authorities to consider new safety measures after inquests into the fatalities were held last week.

But Network Rail insists the Brighton Road and Horsham Road level crossings are safe.

On Friday, Dr Skipp recorded two verdicts of accidental death and one of suicide in the cases of three people who died near the crossings last year.

Speaking about the Brighton Road crossing, Dr Skipp said: "I am concerned that we have two inquests relating to that stretch of railway and in both cases people walked on there with no great difficulty."

Dr Skipp said he would write to Network Rail and British Transport Police to enquire about possible safety improvements.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "Whatever the type of level crossing, our message always remains the same; level crossings are safe if used correctly.

"All level crossings have to comply with stringent safety regulations."

Last year, the News reported on a Network Rail campaign to cut misuse of crossings.

The spokesman added: "Level crossing misuse is the single biggest risk on the railway.

"It is essential that motorists and pedestrians always obey the signs and signals at level crossings in order to use them safely."

SUICIDE AND ACCIDENT VERDICTS ON RAIL DEATHS

INQUESTS into three deaths on town railway lines found two were accidents and one was suicide.

Michael Heron, Frank Hinchcliffe and Linda Powell all died near the Brighton Road and Horsham Road crossings last year.

At Horsham Coroner’s Court on Friday, Dr David Skipp found Mr Heron and Mrs Powell died accidentally, while Mr Hinchcliffe took his own life.

Mr Heron, 51, died on July 29 last year after being hit by a train near the Brighton Road crossing.

Coroner’s officer Geoff Charnock said Mr Heron, from Southgate, was a "devoted father and husband".

Explaining the circumstances of his death, Mr Charnock said a train driver spotted Mr Heron walking along the track as he left Crawley station travelling towards Horsham at around 11pm.

A post mortem found Mr Heron was suffering “"serious intoxication" from alcohol when he died.

His widow Patricia Heron told the inquest it is easy for someone to wander onto the railway.

She said: "There’s no step up or down. The amount of alcohol concerned means he was disorientated.

"He has just walked on thinking he was on the road when he wasn’t."

Explaining his verdict, Dr Skipp said: "Here was a man who had been drinking quite heavily that night. I do feel he was walking down the line by accident. The train couldn’t stop before it hit him and he probably reacted very slowly because of the alcohol."

Frank Hinchliffe, also from Southgate, died on June 5 last year at the age of 77.

The inquest heard Mr Hinchcliffe was a "troubled man" who suffered from kleptomania (an addiction to stealing).

Evidence from the driver of the train which struck him suggested he seemed calm and crawled onto the line as it approached.

Dr Skipp recorded a verdict that Mr Hinchcliffe took his own life.

Linda Powell, from East Grinstead, was killed after jumping the closed level crossing barrier at Horsham Road on May 19 last year.

Coroner's officer Lindon Langley said: "She is seen on CCTV waiting by the barrier for the train to pass. She is then seen climbing over the barrier with a little difficulty. She is seen to stop to put one shoe on, which she had lost as she climbed the barrier. She then ran across straight into the path of a fast-moving train.

"There is no evidence at all that the deceased had planned her death."

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Dr Skipp said: "She put her shoe on and sprinted but unfortunately she sprinted into the path of a train. This was a tragic accident."

An inquest has yet to be held into the death of David Barber, 53, who was hit by a train near the Horsham Road crossing in January this year.