Drunk on track delayed trains (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Drunk on track delayed trains

A DRUNK who delayed 21 trains when he staggered on to the track is desperately trying to get his life back together, a court has heard.

Christopher Beech, 28, downed two bottles of vodka before stumbling on to the railway line from Swindon to Bristol last Friday.

Beech, of Davis House, pleaded guilty to trespassing at Swindon Magistrates' Court yesterday, and was warned he could face jail.

The court heard how Beech was spotted at 1.30pm by a passenger on a train, who alerted the authorities.

When police approached him, shortly before 2pm, he was threatening and abusive to them.

Beech was taken to Westlea police station and during an interview he said he could remember nothing of the incident apart from buying the vodka. He was kept in custody until yesterday.

Marion Langford, prosecuting, said the 21 trains were delayed for a total of 288 minutes.

"The person most at risk was obviously himself but it is the delay and inconvenience to the public," she said.

But Philip Hall, defending, said that Beech, who has previous convictions for alcohol-related offences, was trying to sort his life out.

"He has been trying, on his own, to get his life back on the rails, no pun intended," he said.

"He knows that he has to work to achieve that on his own."

Mr Hall added that Beech had approached the Salvation Army in an effort to kick the booze but had slipped up on this occasion.

"You have a man who was wildly drunk and ends up on the railway line. He can't say why.

"It would appear to me that the real risk was to him."

But magistrates' warned Beech he may go to prison for his actions.

The court ordered a pre-sentence report to be carried out with the option of jail left open.

Chairwoman of the bench, Julia Bishop, said: "This incident is very serious and we have many aggravating features.

"You were very drunk, you delayed travel times at great cost and inconvenience to passengers on the railway.

"I am afraid the mitigation was none as far as we could find."

Beech was released on bail on the conditions that he lives and sleeps at Davis House, reports to the police station regularly and keeps his appointments with the probation service.

After the case Elaine Wilde, from First Great Western, criticised Beech's actions.

She said: "It's very irresponsible behaviour and not something anyone in the rail industry would condone.

"Obviously huge numbers of passengers would have been inconvenienced through his actions."

Gareth Bethell