Rail crash hero policeman speaks out

Published: March 21, 2007 | 5862nd good news item since 2003

A CLITHEROE rail policeman has spoken of his role in helping the surbivors of the recent Cumbrian train crash.
And while Brookside Primary School pupil Chelsea Brand has hailed her dad, PC Steven Davies (28), a hero, the former Whalley resident maintains he was simply carrying out his job with British Transport Police.

When he reported for work at 7 p.m. on February 23rd, PC Davies had no idea that, within two hours, he would be en-route to a scene of utter devastation.

The former St Augustine’s High School pupil told how he was called to the scene to help evacuate passengers. “There was quite a lot of blood inside. Mobile phones were going off all over in passengers’ bags. To our left were the seats and to the right, the ceiling. We were walking where the windows had been. It was very claustrophobic. I remember thinking if the carriage we were in was at the bottom of the enbankment, there were another three carriages hanging over the top. ‘What’s to stop them coming down?’ It was a momentary thought. Getting people out was absolute priority.”

PC Davies remained at the site until 11-30 a.m. the following day; his last duties to guard the train and to keep people away from the scene who should not have been there. “It could have been much, much worse,” he added. “It was all down to the train’s design and the driver who deserves a lot of credit.”

Published in Cops and Heroes
See also: www.clitheroetoday.co.uk