THE partner of a man killed by a train days before Christmas has told of her grief.

The body of 41-year-old Andrew Jackson Warner was discovered on the railway line near Church and Oswaldtwistle station on December 16. The father-of-four had suffered fatal injuries after being struck by a train.

Andrew, who also went by the surname Benjamin, had only recently returned to East Lancashire in a bid to reunite with his family, Dawn Hilton, who had been in an on-off relationship with car salesman Andrew for more than 15 years, said that his sons Andrew Jnr, seven, and Hadleigh, four, had been left devastated by his death.

She added: "We have a Ferrari jacket which was Andrew's and the boys sleep with it as they can smell their dad it.

"It helps them at bed time. Andrew Jnr is completely heartbroken but Hadleigh is a bit too young to understand fully what has happened.

"He wasn't always around but the main thing is that they always knew he loved them."

Andrew had been drinking on Friday, December 15, and was last seen dropping a friend off at the Corporation Street house in Accrington where he had been staying.

The tragedy has been made more difficult for the family by the fact that police initially thought Andrew's death may have been a suicide.

Andrew, who was born in London, moved to Accrington after meeting Dawn in a Milton Keynes wine bar.

Dawn said: "He never really put down roots here and was unable to settle.

"He came back in November and said he wanted to make a go of things. He was going to make 2007 our year as a family."

An inquest will be held on February 26.