Man Dies As Train Hits Car At Level Crossing

One man has died after a car was struck by a freight train at a level crossing in an Oxfordshire village.

Another person, the car driver, was in hospital after the crash at the Sandy Lane crossing in Yarnton, north of Oxford.

The victim, believed to have been the car passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene.

"It is believed two people were in the vehicle at the time. Sadly one of them, a man, was pronounced dead at the scene," a police spokeswoman said in a statement.

"The train involved was a Trafford Park to Southampton freight service, and the driver is reported to be shaken but uninjured.

"Officers are working to establish the full circumstances including how the car came to be on the tracks at the time."

Police said the driver had pulled the emergency brake but was unable to stop in time.

The driver of the car, a blue Renault Kangoo, was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, with what ambulance staff said were minor injuries.

Emergency teams rushed to the scene, a rural crossing with fields on both sides of it, after the accident was reported to the British Transport Police at 3.40pm.

Train passengers on Cross Country and First Great Western services are being warned that they face delays of up to one hour because of the crash, according to National Rail Enquiries .

Buses are replacing trains between Oxford and Banbury.

First Great Western said it was expecting the disruption to continue into the early hours of Thursday morning.

The rural crossing in a quiet country lane was due to be visited by a new speed camera van designed to catch people who attempt to beat level crossing barriers, according to local reports.

The Oxford Mail newspaper reported last month that the van was designed to collect evidence for the prosecution of drivers who gamble on beating the warning signals and barriers to get across before the train arrives.

The paper said Sandy Lane was among those due to be visited.