Man killed on Ware railway crossing trying to save dog

Mr Hart died as he tried to save his dog from a pedestrian rail crossing in Hertfordshire last March

A man was struck by a train moments after running on to railway tracks to rescue his dog, an inquest heard.

Ralph Hart, 77, of Gosselin Road, Hertford, was killed on the New River level crossing near Ware, Hertfordshire, on 22 March last year.

Coroner Geoffrey Sullivan concluded that Mr Hart died of "multiple traumatic injuries" as the result of an accident.

"It was a course of action that most dog owners could relate to," he said.

The inquest at Hatfield Coroners' Court was told there had been nothing to suggest that Mr Hart, a popular local man and retired gardener, had intended to harm himself.

Mr Sullivan said Mr Hart had been out walking his dog - a black Labrador called Tilly - in the vicinity of the railway line between Hertford and Ware.

The New River Crossing is a "permitted right of way" with a pedestrian strip, surrounded on both sides by fields - and accessed by a wooden stile.

'Just too late'

Katie Trevor, an investigator with the British Transport Police, said the train had been travelling from London Liverpool Street to Hertford East at a speed of about 60mph.

The driver, she said, sounded the horn and applied the emergency brake after first spotting the dog on the track.

She said Mr Hart was then seen running on to the tracks from the right, before both were struck.

Mr Sullivan told the inquest the dog appeared to have become stuck on the crossing and had not moved when the train driver sounded the horn as a warning.

Mr Hart was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics at 12:00 GMT, the coroner said.

"Mr Hart was walking the dog and was clearly extremely fond of her. He didn't think twice about attempting to save her," Mr Sullivan said.

"He was in the process of attempting to push her from the railway line.

"Sadly, he was just too late and they were both struck."