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A woman was reportedly attempting to rescue her dog when she was struck by a train.

Emergency services were called to the tragic incident near the level crossing in Collins Lane, Purton, near Swindon, at around 9am on Tuesday morning (15 March).

A local woman was struck by the Great Western Railway train between London Paddington to Cheltenham train. It was put on for Cheltenham Festival and was carrying 350 passengers.

She was pronounced dead at the scene by the ambulance service, which attended alongside the British Transport Police and Wiltshire Police.

A source revealed to Wiltshire 999s that the woman was trying to rescue her dog from the railway line when the devestating collision occurred.

It’s not yet clear how her ‘beloved’ dog came to be on the tracks, but the pet survived the ordeal.

The line remained blocked until around 11.30am, whilst emergency services worked at the scene and then recovered the ‘significantly damaged’ train back to Swindon railway station.

In a statement released shortly after the incident, the British Transport Police said: “Officers were called to the line near Swindon at 9.07am this morning (15 March) following reports of a casualty on the tracks.

“Paramedics also attended, however sadly a person was pronounced dead at the scene.

“This incident is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”