Freight train crashes into car with baby inside at level crossing

'There was someone there shouting get the baby out and I realised there was a baby in there'

A level crossing on Thorpe Lane in Trimley St Martin, Suffolk (Google)

A baby has been injured after the car it was travelling in was hit by a freight train at a level crossing.

Neither the cars driver or the young girl were thought to be seriously injured, but local media reported they had both been taken to Ipswich Hospital.

Suffolk Constabulary said the man had been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving after the incident in Trimley St Martin.

Sgt Julian Ditcham told the BBC that the driver drove around the barriers while they were down. The condition of the train driver is unknown.

Lloyd Welham, 48, a mechanic who lives next to the railway line, told the Ipswich Star he was in his garden when he heard a ”bang” and rushed over to the level crossing.

“At first all I could see was smoke and I went through the carriages and could see a mangled mess the other side," he said. “I jumped across the carriages to where the car was and there was someone there shouting get the baby out and I realised there was a baby in there.”

He said he took the baby out of the car and passed her to another person who had come to help. The driver was lying next to the car and he looked after him until paramedics arrived at the scene, he added.

Greater Anglia said “all lines are blocked” and told passengers to expect disruption until the end of the day following the incident between Derby Road and Trimley.

A statement on its website warned of disruption on all routes, adding: “Passengers are advised that a freight train has struck a road vehicle on a level crossing between Derby Road and Trimley.

“The line between Ipswich and Felixstowe will be suspended until the close of service.”

Rail replacement bus services are being put in place, it said.

Press Association contributed to this report