Safety measures at level crossing where mother of one was killed
Safety measures have been brought in at a level crossing near the Shropshire border in a bid to prevent repeats of a signalling error which killed a mother-of-one.
Network Rail said in a statement it had made alterations to the level crossing at Moreton-on-Lugg, near Leominster, and other similar crossings after the death of 52-year-old Jane Harding three years ago.
Mrs Harding was killed when the car she was travelling in as a passenger was hit by a train at the crossing in a crash in January 2010 which also left her husband Mark seriously injured.
Adrian Maund, from Leominster, was found guilty of breaching health and safety laws by a jury after raising the barriers by mistake as a train was approaching.
Network Rail was also found guilty of breaches following a trial against the company and Mr Maund at Birmingham Crown Court earlier this year.
At a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Maund was fined £1,750 and ordered to do 275 hours of community service while Network Rail was fined £450,000. Network Rail will also pay £33,000 and Maund will pay £750 towards prosecution costs.
In its statement, Network Rail said alterations had been made at Moreton and at other similar crossings since the accident to prevent 'such a rare signaller error leading to tragic consequences'.
Judge Melbourne Inman QC, sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court, said the tragedy was 'entirely preventable'. The jury had earlier heard that Network Rail had decided, for reasons of cost, not to install a safety device which would have detected the oncoming train and kept the barriers down.
Speaking after Wednesday's hearing, Mr Harding said: "Safety – not cost – must be the top priority. The cost of any life, as we can testify, is incalculable."
