Suspended Leicestershire police officer killed by train in Cotswolds

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

A senior Leicestershire police officer who had recently been suspended from the force has died after being struck by a train.

Police said Assistant Chief Constable Gordon Fraser died on Friday. His death was being treated as non-suspicious.

Mr Fraser, 49, and his wife Teresa appeared in court in July charged with perverting the course of justice over a speeding incident in Scotland.

Mr Fraser and his wife were due to appear in court on Monday.

They were accused of falsely claiming she was the driver of a speeding car in Scotland in September 2011, when it was alleged her husband was at the wheel.

Officers said Mr Fraser had been suspended from duty since December 2010, pending an separate investigation being carried out by Merseyside Police.

Leicestershire Police said they were deeply shocked and saddened and their thoughts were with his family and friends.

It also said Mr Fraser had been offered welfare support during his suspension.

British Transport Police said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident and were to prepare a file for the coroner.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From Sky News:

Suspended Police Chief Found Dead On Railway

A suspended senior police officer has been found dead on a railway track after being hit by a train.

The body of Leicestershire Police Assistant Chief Constable Gordon Fraser was found on a trainline in Aston Magna, Moreton-in-the-Marsh, in Gloucestershire.

Mr Fraser had been suspended by the force since December 2010 over allegations of gross misconduct and fraud, pending an investigation by Merseyside Police.

He was due to appear at court in St Albans on Monday, October 22 in connection with a separate allegation of perverting the course of justice, being investigated by Hertfordshire Constabulary.

Mr Fraser had been offered welfare support during his suspension.

Leicestershire Police Authority and Leicestershire Police said they were "deeply shocked and saddened" by the death of Mr Fraser.

"Our thoughts are with his family and friends," they said in a joint statement.

British Transport Police is investigating the circumstances of Mr Fraser's death, which is currently not being treated as suspicious.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Hereford Times:

Man killed after being hit by train - major disruptions

UPDATE 4pm: Rail services are returning to normal and disruption on the route is expected until 4.45pm.

UPDATE 3.06pm: A Network Rail spokesman said the fitter had carried out repair work on the train and expects the line to be re-opened shortly. The train will undergo further examination upon its arrival at Worcester Shrub Hill.

UPDATE 2.37pm: A spokesman for the British Transport Police has confirmed the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Efforts are being made to identify him and inform his family.

^BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) and Gloucestershire Constabulary officers attended the incident, which was reported to BTP at 12.20pm and is currently being treated as non-suspicious. Paramedics from Great Western Ambulance Service also attended but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Enquiries are ongoing to establish the identity of the man and inform his family."

UPDATE 2.15pm: A Network Rail spokesman has confirmed the first train to be up and running will be the 14.09 service from Worcester to Paddington. The other line remains closed while work is carried out to determine whether the train can be removed. The 80 passengers are currently still on board.

"We are waiting for a fitter to give an initial estimate of what damage is and whether it can be fixed or not," he said. "If it cannot be fixed people will have to be evacuated."

UPDATE 1.42pm: The death is not being treated as suspicious by the British Transport Police.

There is currently no service between Worcester Shrub Hill and Oxford.

UPDATE 1.25pm: A Network Rail spokesman has confirmed the man struck by the train has died. The incident happened near a bridge over the line at Dorn, near Moreton in Marsh. Both lines are currently blocked and the train cannot be moved until maintenance work is carried out.

Network Rail staff, British Transport Police and ambulance crews are all at the scene and all trains are now terminating at Oxford and Worcester.

MAJOR disruptions are being experienced on the main Hereford to London Paddington line after a person was hit by a train.

British Transport Police confirmed the incident happened at about 12.17pm at Aston Magna, near Moreton in Marsh, causing delays between Worcester and London.

First Great Western is reporting major disruption to its service on the line and replacement transport is being provided.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Wilts & Gloucestershire Standard:

Court hears 'stressed' suspended police chief turned his back before 60mph train hit him

The moment when a suspended police chief stepped to his death in front of a 60mph train near Moreton-in-Marsh has been described in detail to a coroner today.

Deputy Gloucestershire coroner David Dooley heard that Gordon Fraser, chief constable of Leicestershire, walked onto the line last Friday and then turned his back to the train just before it hit him.

After hearing the circumstances of Mr Fraser's death, the deputy coroner said "There was a gentleman here under severe pressure, especially especially given his occupation and position?"

Det Insp Paul Langley, of British Transport Police, who gave evidence at today's inquest opening in Gloucester, replied "Correct."

Coroner's officer Terry Onions told the inquest "At 1.25pm on Friday last British Transport police contacted the coroner's office to report the death of a male person at Aston Magna railway crossing near Moreton in Marsh.

"The circumstances were that at about 12.17pm the Paddington to Hereford train was doing 55-60mph when it reached this location.

"A male person was seen to walk from bushes on the left hand side and step onto the railway track. As the train approached the person turned his back towards it and he was struck.

"The train braked and stopped and the emergency services were called. British Transport police attended and the body of a male person was recovered.

"Documents with the body suggested it was Gordon Stewart Fraser, a serving senior police officer with Leicestershire Constabulary.

"Fingerprints were taken at the scene and these gave positive identification to confirm the body was that of Mr Fraser."

The deputy coroner said: "The disruption to the body was so extreme that only a sample of urine and not blood could be taken for analysis?"

Mr Onions said "The cause of death has been established by Professor Neil Shepherd as multiple injuries. Samples have been taken for toxicological analysis but that is only urine because nothing else was available."

The deputy coroner formally opened and adjourned the inquest to a date to be fixed. He gave permission for the body to be released for cremation.

[IndustryInsider]

One of the older hands at Oxford depot was driving.  Understandably he was a little upset.  When a member of the force decides this is the best way of ending his life, it shows what a massive uphill task it is to try and reduce suicides by this method.

Seems to be one a day on FGW^▸ (First Great Western) routes at the moment.  Very sad and worrying.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Leicestershire officer Gordon Fraser's death suicide, inquest concludes


Gordon Fraser had been suspended from duty in 2010 following an investigation into fraud allegations.

A senior police officer who was suspended from duty took his own life, an inquest has concluded.

Gordon Fraser, former Assistant Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police, was suspended over allegations of misconduct and fraud in December 2010.

He was hit by a train in October 2012, days before he was due in court charged with perverting the course of justice.

The charge, later dropped, related to allegations his wife accepted penalty points for speeding on his behalf.

Gloucestershire Coroners' Court heard Mr Fraser's health declined as he tried to clear his name.

He died after he was struck by a train near Moreton-in-the-Marsh on 19 October 2012.

Coroner Katy Skerrett said Mr Fraser, a father-of-three from Ansley, Warwickshire, took his own life after "a series of tragic triggers meant he couldn't cope any more".

In a statement, his widow Teresa said she "witnessed the downward spiral" of her husband's spirit and decline of his mental health over time. She said: "It was probably 12 months after his suspension that things spiralled far beyond that. He came under increasing pressure over that period of time and his health deteriorated and he wasn't coping well."

Deputy Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police, Simon Edens, called Mr Fraser's death a "terrible tragedy".

"During his service Gordon had become a very experienced and widely respected police officer," he said. "However in the autumn of 2010 serious allegations were made against him which, whilst being thoroughly investigated by an outside force, necessitated his suspension from his duties in Leicestershire. It is extremely sad that he found himself in a state of mind where he felt determined to take his own life."

Mrs Fraser, a former detective with West Midlands Police, was charged alongside her husband for perverting the course of justice over a speeding incident in Scotland in 2011.

The case was dropped last year by the Crown Prosecution Service after prosecutors decided the case was no longer in the public interest.

Mr and Mrs Fraser were both suspended from police duty in December 2010 over a separate investigation into allegations of misconduct and fraud, relating to a timeshare business in Florida.

Mrs Fraser is due to appear in court on a date yet to be set.