Person hit by train at Hungerford

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Cancer victim took own life ^ inquest

An elderly man who lay down before an approaching train near Hungerford railway station was suffering from terminal cancer, an inquest heard.

The hearing in Newbury Town Hall was told last Wednesday, February 19, that 83-year-old Frederick James Phillips, of Church Way, Hungerford, had been enduring ^intractable pain^

On August 16 last year, it apparently became too much and Mr Phillips placed himself in the path of the 15.38 First Great Western Bedwyn to Paddington train at around 3.45pm.

After the inquest his son paid a heartfelt tribute to his father, describing him as his ^best friend.^

The train driver, Emmanuel Nelson, said he was slowing down to stop at Hungerford station when he saw a figure in the bushes out of the corner of his eye.

He added: ^He lay on the tracks with his head on the running rail. I applied the emergency brakes but I was unable to stop in time. The whole thing lasted no more than 30 seconds.^

Mr Phillips body was found 500 yards out of the station and his walking stick was nearby.

The inquest heard there was no CCTV^▸ covering the area and Mr Phillips would have had to struggle to access the track through thick bushes.

However police said there was no hint of foul play and toxicology tests showed no alcohol or drugs in Mr Phillips^ system.

A post mortem examination revealed he died from multiple injuries.

Mr Phillips^ GP, Dr John Rayner of Ramsbury Surgery, where Mr Phillips had been a patient since 1960, said that a malignant oesophageal tumour had been diagnosed in 2010 and that in June last year it became increasingly active, requiring palliative care for the ^intractable pain in the shoulders and neck.^

The inquest heard Mr Phillips had stayed for two days last August at the prospect Hospice in Swindon, Wiltshire, but although he was appreciative of the care he received there, he had wanted to go home.

Another Ramsbury Surgery GP, Dr Rosemary Symon, said she saw Mr Phillips two days before his death and that he had told her then that he did not want to go on living.

Summing up the evidence, Berkshire coroner Peter Bedford said:^How he accessed the line is extraordinary but it suggests a man who is committed and determined.^

His son agreed: ^I don^t think he was afraid to die ^ it was just a case of how, and when.^

Mr Bedford recorded that Mr Phillips took his own life while suffering from a diagnosed terminal cancer.

Mr Phillips, known as Fred, is survived by a son, Martin, and by his wife of 53 years, Betty.

A tool maker and precision engineer, he was brought up in Lambourn and moved to Hungerford when he married Betty 53 years ago.

After the inquest his son said: ^He was my dad and my best friend ^ a generous, patient, clever, private man who always put family first. From humble beginnings, through hard work and determination, he would always find a way to succeed at whatever was asked of him.

^His passing has left an enormous void in the lives of those he left behind. However, we take some comfort from the memories of happier times.^