A DRUNK father of seven had a lucky escape when he fell asleep across a railway line.
His life was saved when a neighbour alerted police and he was dragged clear minutes before a freight train passed.
The drama occurred one afternoon at Wolvercote, Oxford, in November 1973.
A man called Taylor who lived in Ulfgar Road, Wolvercote, saw what he thought was a body on the line at about 4.15pm and telephoned police.
Pc Malcolm Townsend jumped a fence, near the Plough public house, and found the man lying across the main line.
Det Sgt Peter Giles, of British Transport Police, later told Oxford magistrates: “He was drunk, asleep across the track and unable to stand. Pc Townsend had to carry him off the line.”
The man was fined £20 after he admitted being drunk and trespassing on the railway.
He told the court: “I don’t know much about it. I should like to thank the officer who got me off the railway and I’d also like to thank the other chap for ringing the police.”
Memory Lane this week
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