Man killed by train after escaping custody van

A man hit and killed by a train had escaped from a custody vehicle travelling from a police station to court, police said.

The man, in his 40s, escaped the transport contractor's vehicle as it was stationary on the A1(M) motorway, a joint statement from Hertfordshire Police and British Transport Police (BTP) said.

It said during a search of the area, BTP was called at about 09:40 BST to a casualty on the track near Welwyn North railway station.

The statement said formal identification had not taken place, but the man's family had been made aware.

Hertfordshire Police said the vehicle had been travelling from the custody suite at Stevenage police station.

The forces said two members of transport contractor staff were injured "during an altercation in the van" and were taken by ambulance to hospital for treatment.

It happened at about 09:00.

Hertfordshire Police has referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

A file has been prepared for the coroner.

Inquiries are continuing "to establish the full circumstances and officers will remain in the area while initial investigations continue", a spokesperson said.

David Elsdon, 82, who lives close to the station in the village of Digswell, said he had never seen so many police before and it "was all a bit of a shock".

"We were just out the front ready to leave for the town and inundated with a number of police cars coming along," he said.

"I think we passed 10 in total before we got out on to the main road."

National Rail said earlier Thameslink, LNER and Great Northern trains, from London through Hertfordshire, Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, had been delayed but the line had reopened with some delays and cancellations still expected.

A Thameslink spokesperson confirmed one of its trains had been involved in the incident.

They advised people travelling by train to check their route beforehand.

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