Man dies after car is hit by train in Malton

A 77-year-old man has died after his car was struck by a passenger train at a rail crossing in Malton, North Yorkshire, on Wednesday morning.

The collision took place at around 9:15 am at Ivy Lea rail crossing in Scampston, near Malton, the British Transport Police (BTP) said.

The man's name would not be released until a coroner opens an initial inquest into the death, a BTP spokesman added.

No passengers were injured aboard the 8:48am First TransPennine Express service from Scarborough to Liverpool’s Lime Street station, and the train was not derailed and. The train driver of the service is being treated for shock, according to the BTP spokesman.

The crossing at Ivy Lea Farm, near the village of Rillington, is 'user-worked,' meaning a person must phone for permission before travelling over it.

Following the incident, officers worked to remove passengers from the train and took them to the nearest station, where they could continue their journeys.

Network Rail is “in discussions” with the landowner close to the crossing, it told BBC Radio York.

All services had resumed by Wednesday afternoon, TransPennine Express said.

Dog walker Annie Wilson told BBC Radio York: "I stopped along Ivy Lea because there was a gentleman in a car waiting to turn into Ivy Lea, and I stopped to let him go through the crossing - I assume that's where he was going because it's quite a narrow track there - and carried on across the field.

"I must have been about 400m away and I heard a loud bang, and then heard all the horns of the train so I wasn't entirely sure what had happened," she added.

The subject of safety at rail crossings has been to the fore recently, with the issue being investigated, and reported on, by the House of Commons Transport Committee.

Additional reporting by PA