Glider crashes on main rail route

The pilot was taken to hospital with serious burns

A pilot is in a serious condition after his motorised hang-glider crashed on to the West Coast Main Line near the M6 in Staffordshire.

The hang-glider hit a gantry on the rail line before crashing near the village of Yarnfield, about eight miles from Stafford.

A spokesperson for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said there had been a train in the area at the time of the incident, but it was stopped before reaching the crash site.

The pilot of the hang-glider, a man in his mid-60s from Stoke-on-Trent, was airlifted to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham with 15% burns to his back and legs and head injuries.

Trains diverted

Staffordshire Ambulance Service spokesman Bob Lee said: "His condition is serious, but relatively stable and we are hoping he is going to pull through."

The hang-glider is believed to have struck cables over the railway before crashing and exploding, shortly before 1600 BST on Thursday.

Network Rail said power on the track was switched off while the glider was removed from the vicinity of the track.

A Network Rail spokeswoman said the accident caused "multiple" circuit and signal failures.

The line was closed between Crewe and Stafford while engineers isolated power supplies.

A spokesman from British Transport Police said the line was reopened at 2010 BST on Thursday.