Train driver revisits smash scene

Three youths were seen near the bridge at the time of the incident

Police investigating an incident in which a slab of concrete was dropped on to a high-speed train have revisited the scene with the train's driver.

The block was thrown onto the First Great Western express from Paddington to Plymouth at 2100 on Wednesday.

The windscreen was smashed and the driver was injured.

Police are searching for three people who were seen on a bridge where the block was thrown, about two miles south of Cullompton, Devon.

The train had been travelling at 80mph and was accelerating to 100mph.

The Exeter-based driver was badly shaken by the incident, and was cut on the face and arms by flying glass.

Fail-safe devices

Sergeant Gerry Stuart, of British Transport Police, said: "This is a very serious incident.

"The train was accelerating to its maximum speed, but if it had been at 100mph the block could have penetrated the windscreen and killed the driver."

Passengers were transferred to another service on arrival Exeter.

The damaged train was back in service on Thursday after repairs in Bristol.

A First Great Western spokesman said that all trains were equipped with fail-safe devices which stopped a train if a driver was seriously injured.

Train windows are 1in thick and made of seven sheets of laminated glass.

He said: "There are a handful of these incidents every year, but it is very rare for something to pierce the windscreen."