Man fell between train and platform at Radyr station in Cardiff

A rail conductor failed to notice a passenger falling between the train and platform before signalling it was safe to move off, a trial has heard.

It happened at Radyr station in Cardiff at about 22:15 BST on 25 July 2019.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that another passenger alerted the driver to stop before Gavin Davies was seriously injured.

Nigel Lawless, 56, from Ynyswen, Rhondda Cynon Taf, denies endangering the safety of a person on the railway.

Prosecutor Emma Harris told the jury that as conductor, Mr Lawless's "sole responsibility was to ensure that the train left each station only when it was safe to do so".

Ms Harris told the jury that "by his own admission", Mr Davies was drunk and that he "stumbled and fell into the gap between the platform and the train".

The court heard Mr Lawless was "completely unaware" about what had happened and signalled for the train to move off, and that it was only through the actions of another passenger alerting the driver that Mr Davies was not seriously injured.

Prosecutors said that had Mr Lawless followed the correct Transport for Wales procedures, he would have been aware of Mr Davies's fall.

Ms Harris said the procedures were clear that the passenger doors should be closed, then the conductor should return to the platform for a final check before indicating that the driver can leave the station.

Had he done that, she said, Mr Lawless would have seen Mr Davies fall or at least have seen the reaction of the other passengers on the platform.

She said that it is "not the prosecution's case that he acted maliciously or intended to cause harm, simply that he did not follow the correct procedures and endangered Mr Davies".

From the witness box Mr Davies told the court that he had woken on the train at Radyr and did not know which station he was at, and said he went to the door to see if he could read a sign on the platform.

He told the jury that "the next thing I remember is essentially being winded. I believe that I had gone down between the train and the platform edge".

Mr Davies said he was taken to hospital with what were later confirmed to be superficial injuries.

Defence counsel Neil Fitzgibbon suggested that Mr Davies had held onto the door as it was closing to try to force it to stay open and been thrown onto the platform. Mr Davies said he did not recall that happening.

Train driver Mark Lewis told the jury that he remembered receiving a buzzer code indicating that it was safe to leave the station

Mr Lewis stated that he stopped the train, which had only moved a few feet, after someone banged on his cabin window informing him someone had fallen between the train and platform edge.

The trial is continuing.