An inquest looking into the circumstances which led up to the tragic death of a farmer at a level crossing has returned an accidental death and narrative verdict.
Colin Cameron, aged 60, died when his Land Rover was struck by a train at a Gloucestershire railway crossing on 9 February 2017.
A post-mortem into his death revealed he died from multiple injuries.
Following the incident, officers spoke to witnesses and specialist search teams were called to the scene to try and establish the circumstances which led to his death.
Gloucester Coroner's Court, in a two-day hearing which ended on Wednesday 12 June, heard from a number of witnesses involved in the case.
Local paper Gloucestershire Live reported how the court heard how Mr Cameron was given the all clear to cross the Frampton Mansell railway line.
However, just moments later, his vehicle was hit by an oncoming train.
Mr Cameron, who used the level crossing regularly since 1988, mistakenly told a signaller via the signal box at the railway that a train had recently passed by.
Speaking in the court, the farmer's family said his death was 'avoidable'.
“We struggle to understand how in this day and age the public are relied upon to give information on the location of trains when seeking permission to cross railway tracks.
“Nothing can now bring Colin back, but we hope that through this process lessons can be learned and improvements made to level crossing safety so that no one else has to experience this loss.”
A jury spokeswoman said in conclusion: “The vehicle the deceased was driving was hit by a train while crossing the Frampton Mansell user worked crossing.
“Permission to cross had been given while a train was known to be somewhere in the track section based on Colin Cameron’s confirmation that a train had passed.
“This was accepted industry practice. The confirmation given was incorrect.”
The married father-of-two was one of the founding members of Stroudco Food Hub, a food organisation which sourced produce from local farmers and bakers.
It follows the release of figures from Network Rail which show that farmers are 'dicing with death' at level crossings across the UK.
According to the figures, one incident involving a farming vehicle is reported on average every week in Britain.
In the last 10 years alone, five people have lost their lives in vehicles at level crossings on farmland, with many more being hurt and injured.
