A POLICE officer saved the life of a drunken football fan by dragging him from the path of a train with seconds to spare.

"I thought he was a goner", said Sergeant David Grant as he told of the dramatic weekend rescue.

Sgt Grant was on duty on platform four at Blackburn train station at 6.30pm on Saturday monitoring crowds of football fans heading home from the Blackburn Rovers and Derby County match.

He said he looked towards the tunnel under Cicely Lane and saw the man 'staggering' along the track with the train approaching.

Sgt Grant, who is based at Preston and regularly covers football matches across Lancashire, set off running alongside the track to try and rescue him.

He said: "I ran quite a distance to the tunnel.

"I really thought I was witnessing someone being killed.

"As I got closer to him I couldn't weigh up what would happen if I shouted.

"I didn't know if it would make him run further into the path of the train or if he would stop.

"I shouted 'Get off the track!' and luckily he turned round.

"I grabbed him on the arm and pulled him off the track 10 seconds before the train arrived."

Sgt Grant said the man did not "fully appreciate" the danger he had been in.

He said: "Because he had been staggering I suspected he was under the influence of alcohol and it turned out he was.

"When I arrested him, he said: 'I was just looking for somewhere to sleep'."

Sgt Grant, 42, who is from British Transport Police, said he was "not a hero at all".

He added: "I was running alongside the track, not on it, so I wasn't worried that I'd get hurt.

"In my job I have to be aware of my own safety.

"It was one of those things. You come across situations and deal with them."

.

Sgt Grant is about to transfer from Preston to Lancaster BTP station.

The 19-year-old man from Derby was arrested and later given a £50 fixed penalty notice for trespassing on a railway.