Man in search of shoe on train hit by 25,000 volts

A FOOTBALL fan who climbed on top of a stationary train to retrieve a shoe was lucky to survive being hit by 25,000 volts and thrown on to the track, British Transport Police said yesterday.

The 23-year-old was in a critical, but stable condition in hospital after being seriously burned at Durham railway station on Saturday evening.

It was believed the man, from Cornforth, County Durham, was a Newcastle United fan who had travelled to the team’s 2-0 home defeat against Blackpool. His shoe, for reasons yet to be established, became lodged on top of the train, police said.