Man cleared of unlawfully killing friend who saved his life on North Wales railway track

Patrick Kennedy, 49, of Woodlands Road, Cheetham, Manchester, outside Mold Crown Court
-Credit: (Image: David Powell)


A drunk man whose friend lost his life dragging him to safety, after he sat on a North Wales railway track, was today cleared of manslaughter. Patrick Kennedy, 49, sat between the rails near Prestatyn Station "for a giggle" but his friend Keith Wadsworth Ford, 40 pulled him clear seconds before he was struck and killed by the Holyhead train.

Today Kennedy, of Woodlands Road, Cheetham, Greater Manchester, was cleared at Mold Crown Court of the manslaughter of Mr Ford and another charge of endangering the safety of people on a railway.

A jury of six men and six women had been hearing evidence in the trial which began on Monday. The judge, Mr Justice Matthew Nicklin, directed them to find Kennedy not guilty.

Read more: High tides warning in Wales with coastal residents told to brace for flooding

Read more: Pressure to approve housing scheme in village that 'only wants Welsh speakers'

Mr Justice Nicklin said Mr Ford committed a "no doubt courageous and selfless act" in saving his friend, and he did so "of his own free will". You can sign up for all the latest court stories here

Both men, who had arrived at nearby Greenacres and Sunny Sands caravan park on Shore Road, Prestatyn hours earlier, had been drinking before the incident on July 13, 2022.

On Monday, the jury heard that Mr Ford and Kennedy had left their caravan park that day and trespassed onto the railway, passing a sign indicating trespassers face a £1,000 penalty. The Holyhead to Birmingham International train, travelling at 62mph, reached the two men at 5.05pm.

Prosecutor William Hughes KC had said Kennedy "heard and saw it" and decided to sit in the four feet gap between each rail "for a giggle", joking to Mr Ford he would "catch the train to the beach".

But Mr Killeen claimed on Monday that Kennedy's intention - in beach shorts, no shoes and no top - was to go to the beach but they jointly decided to trespass on the railway. During the "blur of drink on the part of both of them" the defendant made a joke about getting a train to the beach.

Maybe as Mr Ford had been driving earlier he had drunk less and been more astutely saw the danger of the approaching train. "How does the act of (Mr Kennedy) sitting down cause Mr Ford's death? It doesn't", argued Mr Killeen.

He added: "One man sadly has lost his life, the other is permanently disfigured forever but he's alive. But that should not be an excuse for saying someone has got to pay."

The judge said: "Mr Ford’s death is not...something for which the defendant is responsible under the criminal law.”

Find crime figures for your area