Train driver narrowly misses two children 'having picnic' on railway

Train driver narrowly misses two children 'having picnic' on railway
Train driver narrowly misses two children 'having picnic' on railway

PA


A train driver who narrowly missed hitting two children who were having a picnic on a railway was left so traumatised after the experience he is now taking a safety message to schools.

Geraint Llewellyn drives trains for First Great Western between Swansea and London, and had to brake while going 90mph after spotting two boys eating a sandwich and drinking on the railway line at Briton Ferry.

Mr Llewellyn, 33, who has been a train driver for 11 years, said he was left shaken and unable to drive the train after the incident two months ago.

He told the BBC: "It looked like to me like they were eating a sandwich and having a drink.

"I sounded my horn, but the train horns are so loud that one of the children froze. Thankfully, they both managed to get out of the way in time."

He came up with the idea for the awareness campaign with his manager Ian Rowlands, who said that, on average, train drivers experience "one or two" near misses every year.

Mr Llewellyn visited a school in Bridgend on Friday, where the safety message included a DVD presentation from the British Transport Police.

He said: "The near miss happened two months ago at Briton Ferry. It was very traumatic, especially as I'm father with two children of a similar age.

"I went back to Swansea and chatted to Ian about it. I felt we had to do something and we came up with an awareness package.

"An accident obviously has major implications for those involved, but a near miss also has an horrendous impact on train drivers."

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