Portsmouth FA Cup final fans hit by travel delays (15 May 2010)

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

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

Portsmouth football fans heading to the FA Cup final at Wembley have faced train and road delays.
Rail services from Portsmouth to London had to be diverted around Liphook when a wheelie bin got stuck under a train.
Normal services were resumed just after 0800 BST but passengers still faced knock-on effects.
Meanwhile the M25 is partially blocked off the M3 in Surrey. Thousands of fans are heading to London to watch their team take on Chelsea.
Train services suffered a 50% reduction while workers tried to reopen the line at Liphook.
It is thought a vandal had put the metal wheelie bin on the track.
Traffic is slow on the M3 northbound at Thorpe in Surrey after an accident at junction 2 on the M25.
Earlier, there were also hold-ups for motorists as a 4x4 and a trailer overturned, closing part of the northbound M3 between junctions 14 and 13.
The road was fully reopened after several hours.

[Chris from Nailsea]

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

Arrests after train hits bin on Hampshire rail tracks

Two people have been arrested after a wheelie bin left on railway tracks in Hampshire became lodged under a train.
The bin was struck by a freight train at Liphook station early on 15 May, delaying rail services for three hours.
Many Portsmouth football fans were trying to reach London's Wembley Stadium for the FA Cup final.
The men, aged 20 and 19, and both from Liss, Hampshire, were released on British Transport Police bail until 30 June.
They were arrested on suspicion of endangering safety and malicious obstruction.
The impact did not damage the train but Network Rail engineers attended to pull the bin out from under the train.

[Chris from Nailsea]

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

Men admit pushing bin hit by train on to railway line

Two men who pushed a wheelie bin on to a rail line in Hampshire which was later hit by a train at 55mph have pleaded guilty to endangering safety.

The incident at Liphook sparked long delays for football fans travelling to London for the Portsmouth versus Chelsea FA Cup final in May.

CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) caught Ashley Keatings, 20, and Jacob Kirby, 20, bundling the bin on to the tracks in the early hours.

Both are due to be sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on 10 December.

A freight train hit the large steel bin at 55mph sending sparks flying and causing damage to the tracks.

The impact did not damage the train but meant Network Rail engineers had to spend several hours working at the site before services resumed.

Keatings, of Hillbrow Road, Liss, and Kirby, 20, of Station Road, Liss, were arrested a few days later following a public appeal.

Det Con Phil Bibbings, from British Transport Police, said: "I cannot over-emphasise enough the dangers associated with this type of crime. Thankfully this time, through luck, no-one was injured and no trains were damaged, but we may not be so fortunate if this happens again."

[Chris from Nailsea]

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

Man who pushed bin on Hampshire railway line is jailed

One of two men who bundled a steel wheelie bin on to a Hampshire railway line, which was later hit by a train travelling at 55mph, has been jailed.

The incident at Liphook sparked long delays for football fans travelling to London for the Portsmouth versus Chelsea FA Cup final in May last year.

CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) caught Ashley Keatings, 20, and Jacob Kirby pushing the bin on to the tracks, Winchester Crown Court heard.

Kirby, 20, was jailed for 10 months but Keatings' sentence was adjourned.

Keatings, of Hillbrow Road, Liss, and Kirby, of Station Road, Liss, were arrested a few days later following a public appeal.

The pair pleaded guilty to endangering safety at an earlier hearing.

British Transport Police said CCTV footage captured the pair pushing the industrial-sized bin on to the station platform at 0135 BST on 15 May before Kirby pushed it down on to the tracks.

About five minutes later the steel bin was struck by a 55mph DB^» (Deutsche Bahn - German State Railway - about) Schenker-operated freight train, sending sparks flying 4ft into the air, damaging the tracks and leaving a half-mile trail of rubbish and scattered debris.

The impact did not damage the train but meant Network Rail engineers had to attend to remove the bin, which had become twisted and entangled underneath, the court heard.

The cost for DB Schenker in terms of delays and disruption to services, the mobilisation of a recovery team and the examination of the locomotive was estimated at more than ^20,000.

The incident also saw services in the area grind to a complete halt until 0800 BST, costing Network Rail ^5,000.

Judge Guy Boney QC told the pair: "This incident could have resulted in the significant loss of life had the train passing through been a passenger service."

Speaking after the sentencing, British Transport Police's Det Con Phil Bibbings said: "This was an utterly thoughtless act of vandalism that could have had far worse consequences and we welcome the sentences handed down."

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Portsmouth News:

Man held under Mental Health Act after FA Cup final train chaos

A man has been detained under the Mental Health Act after admitting endangering public safety when a wheelie bin was shoved on to the train track on FA Cup final day.

Ashley Keatings, 20, and Jacob Kirby, 21, dragged the large steel bin on to a platform at Liss train station at about 1.40am on May 15 last year.

Kirby then shoved the bin on to the tracks and it was hit by a freight train travelling at 55mph about four minutes later.

The train came to a stop about a mile-and-a-half down the tracks.

It caused delays for Pompey fans travelling by rail to London for the cup final against Chelsea that day.

Nobody was hurt in the incident but it cost about ^25,000 to repair the damage as well as refunding Cup final tickets to fans who couldn^t make it to Wembley.

Winchester Crown Court heard yesterday how Keatings, of Hazelbank Road, Liss, pictured below, suffers from autism and mental health problems.

Judge Guy Boney QC made an order for Keatings to be detained under the Mental Health Act. ^The order I^m going to make in your case, and I call it an order rather than a sentence, is designed to help you rather than to punish you. It^s clear from what I have read in the reports of the two consultant pyschiatrists that you have dealings with, that you have mental health problems which need addressing and will, I hope in the relatively short future, sort you out and enable you to be returned properly to everyday society.^

Kirby, of Station Road, Liss, was previously sentenced to 10 months in jail after admitting endangering public safety.