Dog hit as hunting hounds stray onto railway line near Shrewsbury
A hound from the South Shropshire Hunt was hit by a train on the main Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth railway line.
The hunt had been out on land close to the line at Stretton Heath at just after lunchtime.
Welsh Border Hunt Sabs had been monitoring the hunt when reports came in that between 10-15 hounds had strayed on to the railway line on Saturday.
A Transport for Wales spokesman said: "At approximately 13:40 on Saturday, the driver of our Birmingham International to Aberystwyth service spotted a group of between 10 and 15 dogs on the track in the vicinity of the Stretton Heath level crossing.
"The train was travelling at approximately 70mph and the driver applied the emergency brake as soon as he saw the animals. The driver believes he only hit one of the dogs and was left quite shaken as a result. The incident did not cause a major delay and the train was able to proceed onwards shortly afterwards."
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According to the spokesman, it can take up to a kilometre for a train to stop when travelling at 70mph.
Subsequent trains using the crossing would have been able to continue with their journeys although drivers had been made aware that there had been animals on the line and may still have been in the vicinity.
Dangerous
Colin Lea, customer experience director for Transport for Wales Rail Services, said: “The railway can be a dangerous place so we’d like to remind all domestic animal and livestock owners to ensure their animals do not venture onto tracks.
“Ultimately this could cause a serious accident and it was only through the quick reactions of our driver that this was not more serious.”
Jordan Bluer, spokesman for the British Transport Police, said: "We were called at 2.12pm following a report of dogs on a section of railway near where Yockleton Road meets the B4386 in Shrewsbury.
"A dog was reported to have been struck by a train. All animals were moved from the tracks shortly afterwards."
The South Shropshire Hunt has been approached for comment.
The dog involved in the hunt in the countryside near Llangollen strayed onto the tracks of the Llangollen Steam Railway.
At the time, Railway bosses said the hunt did not have permission to be on railway property.
