Rail worker is pushed off bridge

A rail worker has been threatened with a knife and pushed off the top of a bridge by two men.

The worker, 28, was investigating a track near Ore, East Sussex, when he noticed a hole in a fence.

He was then confronted by the two men who brandished a knife and pushed him off a railway bridge, causing him to fall 10ft (3.04m) down an embankment.

After calling for help on his mobile, he was taken to hospital with a bruised back and possible neck injuries.

'Very lucky'

A spokesman for British Transport Police (BTP) said the Network Rail worker's fall was broken by trees leading down to the railway line.

"The total drop from the top of the tunnel is 50ft (15.2m), so he was very lucky not to have been more seriously injured," he said.

The two men fled the scene following the attack on Tuesday.

The first man, who carried the knife, was aged about 21, white, 5ft 7in tall (1.7m) with dark hair and wore a dark hooded top and dark blue jeans.

The second man, also white, was 6ft tall with short dark spiked hair, and wore a blue zip-up hooded top with matching jogging bottoms.

Transport police have appealed for witnesses to contact them.