Farmworker unhurt as train cuts tractor in half

A tractor driver has escaped serious injury after his tractor was hit by a train on a level crossing in Norfolk.

The front coach of the King’s Lynn to King’s Cross train hit the tractor as the driver tried to negotiate the crossing at Saddlebow on Sunday 25 September.

The John Deere’s front wheels and engine were sheared off up to the cab, leaving it almost intact and still attached to a trailer load of sugar beet.

Its engine and axles were dragged 200 yards up the line where the train came to a stop.

The tractor driver was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn after the crash, but was discharged later the same day.

Forty train passengers had to wait two hours to be evacuated while damaged overhead power lines were made safe.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is investigating the cause of the crash.

Photos courtesy of Lynn News