Reward on offer after vandals leave train driver hurt

Published on Sunday 18 May 2008 22:28

TRAIN operator First ScotRail has put up a £1,000 reward to help catch vandals who injured a train driver by dangling from a bridge a heavy metal object, which crashed through the windscreen of a 60mph train.

The 37-year-old driver was showered in flying glass, suffering injuries to his face and forehead. He managed to bring the passenger train to a halt near Blantyre in Lanarkshire and radio his control room for assistance.

One source at British Transport Police said: "This was one lucky guy. He could have been seriously injured or killed. At first, they were really worried he had picked up tiny fragments of glass in his eyes, but that turned out not to be the case."

The incident happened around 7:10pm last Wednesday as the train passed under the bridge in Blantyre Farm road. There were no passengers on board at the time.

First ScotRail has taken the unusual step of offering a 1,000 reward to help the British Transport Police catch those responsible.

Steve Montgomery, operations and safety director at First ScotRail, said: "We fully support BTP in their appeal to find the perpetrator of this serious incident, which resulted in the injury of a member of our staff.

"To reflect our zero tolerance of such acts, we are putting up a reward of 1,000 to bring this person to justice, and appeal to anyone who knows who may be responsible to come forward."

The driver was taken to Wishaw Hospital and released following treatment to his injuries. A relief driver was needed to remove the damaged train.