POOL players at a Littleport pub were astonished to glance out of the window and see a car hit by a train on Friday night. Customers at the Black Horse Pub in Padnal Bank, rushed out to try to help a young man in his 20s who was trapped in a dark coloured

POOL players at a Littleport pub were astonished to glance out of the window and see a car hit by a train on Friday night.

Customers at the Black Horse Pub in Padnal Bank, rushed out to try to help a young man in his 20s who was trapped in a dark coloured saloon car on the level crossing, in pitch black at around 11.30pm as the late-night King's Lynn train approached.

The barriers had gone down and initial reports indicate that the driver ignored the barriers and tried to drive across the track and weave in and out of the barriers. Other customers of the Black Horse Pub maintain there was a signal failure at the level crossing, which is two minutes from Littleport Railway Station.

Luckily the car had already spun and come to a stop, so when it was hit by the train, which had slowed down to 60mph to prepare for its scheduled stop at the station, it clipped the back of the vehicle rather than hitting in head-on. As soon as the train driver came to a stop, he called police, but officers had already received six calls from members of the public. The 30 passengers travelling on the train were unhurt, but the driver had to be cut from his car by the fire service.

Austrian-born Harild Rauch, landlord of the Black Horse, said he had never seen anything like it in the 12 months that he had been in Littleport. "Pedestrians occasionally try and jump the barriers, but I have never seen a car do it - local people know that when the barriers go down here, you have only 10 or 20 seconds before the train arrives, so to try to jump the barrier, that is really suicidal. There are conflicting reports of what happened from my customers so we will await the official investigation."

The man was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital and his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

"He had his guardian angels with him that day," said Mr Rauch, who also praised the emergency services for their quick response.

A spokesperson for British Transport Police confirmed that an investigation into the incident was ongoing and they attended the incident alongside the police, ambulance and fire services.

"The driver of the car sustained minor injuries. He was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital and released the following day," she added.

The train was slightly damaged at the front but its driver and passengers were unhurt.