Metro train in collision with car

An investigation is under way after a collision between a Tyne and Wear Metro train and a car at a level crossing.

Emergency services were called to the level crossing at Callerton Parkway station at 0950 GMT on Saturday.

A police spokesman said the occupants of the Volkswagen Passat, two adults and two children, and all passengers on the train had walked away uninjured.

Metro services on the line between Newcastle Airport and Kingston Park were suspended for about three hours.

The road outside the Metro station was closed while further inquiries took place.

Huw Lewis, head of external affairs at Nexus - the company which operates the Metro system, said the crash had occurred at a traffic light controlled level crossing close to Newcastle Airport.

'On foot'

He said: "The train would have just pulled out of the station so it would have been moving very slowly on the way towards the airport.

"There was a handful of passengers on board the Metro train and thankfully they were all able to walk away on foot."

A police spokesman said the car was being driven by a 47-year-old man from the Cramlington area of North Tyneside.

Accident investigation officers were attempting to establish the cause of the crash.