'Go to the pub': London Midland sorry for 'insensitive' tweet after death

Stock photo: PA

London Midland have come under fire for 'insensitively' suggesting that commuters go to the pub to avoid delays after a suspeted suicide on the tracks.

A man in his 70s was hit by a train at University Station in Selly Oak, Birmingham, last Sunday.

And, when commuters asked questions about subsequent delays to the service, London Midland tweeted: "Go to the pub - things will be rubbish for at least the next hour".

Some of the 13,507 London Midland Twitter followers took offence to the tweet, and when one other tweeter wrote: 'In this day and age why are ppl still getting hit by trains? Shame on you, shame on @LondonMidland and shame on Network Rail", the train company responded with: "Can't stop someone jumping off a platform in front of a train I'm afraid."

The 'insensitive' tone of the comments has been blasted by other passengers, with one commuter, Keith White, who was caught up in the delays, telling The Sun: "I'm not sure how this train company have won any awards with insensitive comments like this. They should be ashamed of themselves."

David Whitley, who manages the Twitter account, told the Daily Mail: "We haven't received any complaints from the people involved in this correspondence, although we are very sorry if we have unintentionally upset anyone reading through our Twitter feed.

"London Midland can receive over a thousand tweets a day and we try very hard to provide tailored, individual responses to as many of them as possible within the 140 character limit.

"We are involved in ongoing work with Network Rail and the Samaritans to help reduce the frequency of these sad events."