Rail death supervisor cleared

The judge said Beverly Swane was following standard practice

A foreman has been cleared of the manslaughter of a railway worker from Derby who was killed by train.

A judge said the evidence was not strong enough to hold the foreman responsible for the death of Mark Falivena.

Beverley Swane, 59, had been accused of gross criminal negligence contributing to Mr Falivena's death.

Mr Swane was safety supervisor for a team of men carrying out repairs on a section of the London to Derby track in Leicestershire in August 2001.

Overwhelming evidence

Mr Falivena, 36, died after he was hit by a train travelling at 85mph.

The prosecution claimed Mr Swane, of Desborough, Northamptonshire, did not close the track properly or check for oncoming trains.

But at Leicester Crown Court Mr Justice Harrison told the jury to return a not guilty verdict after the evidence of several prosecution witnesses was called into question by the defence.

The judge said the overwhelming evidence was that many workers would have done the job in the same way and it seemed Mr Swane was following standard practice.