Escapee fleeing custody van on way to court struck by train at Welwyn North

A man being taken to court escaped from a prison van before being killed by a train.

His body was found by Welwyn North train station in Hertfordshire sparking travel chaos on Thursday morning.

Two security guards were injured ‘during an altercation’ at 9am in the van which had pulled over on the hard shoulder of the A1.

The detainee, in his 40s, was found dead on the tracks near the station 40 minutes later.

The custody van staff were taken to hospital for treatment for their injuries.

David Elsdon, 82, who lives close to the station, said the huge police response ‘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 told the BBC.

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

A Hertfordshire Police spokesman said: ‘Police are currently at the scene of an incident close to Welwyn North train station, alongside colleagues from the British Transport Police.

‘Shortly after 9am today, a man aged in his 40s who was being conveyed to court by a transport contractor escaped from the vehicle, which was stationary on the hard shoulder of the A1(M) carriageway.

‘An area search followed, with multiple resources deployed. Sadly, during the search, BTP officers were called at around 9.40am to reports of a casualty on the tracks near Welwyn North railway station.

‘Formal identification has yet to take place, but the family of the escaped man are aware. A file has been prepared for the coroner.’

‘As a matter of protocol, the incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct by Hertfordshire Constabulary.’

The Ministry of Defence has been approached for comment.

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

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