'Tussling' rail death pair named

Katie Gumble and her boyfriend Dean Pickard appeared to be arguing

A couple who died when they were hit by a packed commuter train travelling at 80mph have been named by police.

Dean Pickard, 33, from Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, and his girlfriend Katie Gumble, 35, of Harlow in Essex, appeared to be arguing, police said.

CCTV footage of the incident showed the couple tussling with each other at Harlow Mill station, officers revealed.

The King's Lynn to London Liverpool Street service via Cambridge had 300 passengers on board.

Det Ch Insp David Shipperlee, from British Transport Police, said witnesses reported hearing "raised voices".

He added: "It would appear from CCTV evidence that the couple were on the tracks and they were both pulling at each other.

"They were seen on the CCTV to be tussling. It's not clear at this stage who was pulling whom and for what reason.

A section of track 300 yards long was cordoned off by police

"It may be the male was trying to pull the female away, as was suggested by one witness."

A 300-yard (274m) long section of track at Harlow Mill was cordoned off by police, leading to delays on the West Anglia mainline.

Naveed Riaz, 29, who was on the National Express East Anglia train when it struck the couple at 0800 BST on Tuesday, said: "We felt a vibration under our feet and I thought we had hit some debris or some rocks.

"It took several seconds for the train to stop. No one knew what had happened.

"All we were told was that there had been a serious incident on the track. We were kept on the train for four hours."

Members of Ms Gumble's family have visited the scene.