OAP loses leg after train fall

The Black Country pensioner who fell under a train at a Severn Valley Railway station in a freak accident has lost her leg, it emerged today.

Jean Willis, aged in her early 60s of Brierley Hill, lost her footing and fell into the gap between the train and platform during the accident on April 29. Her husband also fell trying to save her.

Her daughter Julie Willis said tragically doctors had not been able to save her mother's leg which was crushed in the tragedy.

She today thanked people for their messages of support.

She said: "Thank you to all of you for your best wishes. Dad is home, unfortunately mum's leg could not be saved and she is in intensive care on life support.

"I'm touched there are people like yourselves that care and not people moaning the train was delayed and taking photographs or people finding a negative comment out of a freak accident. Thank you all so much."

Mrs Willis was stepping off a Bridgnorth-bound train at the Severn Valley Railway station Hampton Loade.

After she slipped and fell into the gap her husband grabbed hold to try and stop the fall but fell into the gap on top of her.

The train was moving slowly off the platform at the time and crushed Mrs Willis' legs. A train guard pulled the emergency brake and the train was stopped.

Emergency services first took Mrs Willis out from under the train with minor injuries. It took paramedics 90 minutes to get her out from under the train. She was flown to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham.

Marketing manager for the Severn Valley Railway, John Leach, said today: "The railway is always subject to an inquiry by the Office of the Rail Regulator in the event of an accident. It is a tragic accident. We have looked very closely at this and just cannot see how two people fell between the train and the platform.

"We believe that we have done everything we can from a safety point of view and there is not a lot more we can do."

An off-duty accident and emergency consultant attended the scene to help administer pain relieving drugs to the pensioner before she was flown by Air Ambulance to Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham.

County air ambulance paramedic, Jerry Penn-Ashman said at the time it had been very difficult to access the patient because she had been in a gap of about only 18 inches.

Divisional officer for Shropshire Fire Brigade Jim Cameron, who helped co-ordinate the rescue also previously said the couple were very lucky not to have been crushed to death.