A WOMAN was struck by a train when she tried to reach her dog which had wandered onto the track.

The 59-year-old from Brierfield suffered a minor head injury following the incident, but her dog died at the scene.

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Police said she was ‘lucky to be alive’ after being hit Continued n 2 by the passenger train and warned people not to go on the railway line while a train was approaching.

The woman had been walking her pet by the foot crossing to Hard Platts, near Manchester Road, Nelson, when the accident happened.

After being treated at the scene, she was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital.

Police and Network Rail staff closed the area off for a short time while an investigation took place, but later reopened the line.

County Cllr Mohammed Iqbal, who lives near the crossing, said: “The dog must have been very important to her but at the end of the day her life should be more important.

“People should always be very careful around crossing points and there are gates on either side.

“When you approach the gates, you can actually see down either side of the tracks for quite a way but if she was determined to get to her dog then nothing was going to stop her.

“I think that the safety measures that are in place at the crossing are adequate but I would call on people to continue to be responsible around that area as train tracks are very dangerous places.

“She is a very lucky person to have escaped with only minor injuries.

“In all my time of living here I have never heard of someone being struck accidentally by a train and I think that it’s quite a safe crossing.

“This is a very sad incident and I hope that it never happens again.

“Extra care should be taken by everyone at crossings but more so at night when it’s harder to judge how fast oncoming trains are going.”

A resident in Manchester Road said: “I saw all the police at the time and it’s really sad that her dog died.

“I’m glad that she was not more seriously hurt because it could have been a lot worse.

“It’s quite a safe crossing even at night but people should always be really careful.”

Insp Phil Hutchinson of Lancashire Police said: “Her injuries were not serious and she is very lucky to still be alive.

“The train lines were cleared and all services were running normally a short afterwards.”

A British Transport Police spokesman said: “Our officers were called to Hard Platts foot crossing at Little Marsden, Nelson, shortly before 8pm on Monday after reports a person had been struck by a train while retrieving her pet dog.

“Colleagues from North West Ambulance Service also attended, and a 59-year-old woman from Brierfield was taken to hospital for treatment to a head injury.”