Woman walking on line stops train

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/8113495.stm

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A train had to make an emergency stop after a woman decided to walk 35 miles home along a railway track between Bristol and Cheltenham.

The driver had to slam on the brakes when he saw the woman, and stepped down from the cabin to help her aboard before driving her back to the station.

The 38-year-old woman who had shopping bags in hand, walked across six railway lines at about 0900 BST on Saturday.

British Transport Police said they were investigating the incident.

"I can confirm that a 38-year-old woman from Cheltenham has been reported to the Crown Prosecution Service for trespass after she was discovered walking alongside the line near Bristol Parkway railway station," said a spokesman for British Transport Police.

"Railway staff escorted her back to the safety of a platform at Bristol Parkway station where she was met by BTP officers who accompanied her on a train to Cheltenham where she was reunited with her family."

Photographs of the woman were taken by a trainspotter who saw her walking the 650m along the tracks before being picked up by the train.

John Hobbs, 61, from Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, was waiting on a bridge to photograph a special service due to arrive from Birmingham when he saw the woman.

Train services in the area were halted between 0900 and 0930 BST.