Compensation for train driver who hit goat

A train driver who suffered nightmares after hitting a goat on a railway line has been awarded £35,000 compensation, it was learned today.

The driver, who has asked not to be named, became distressed after the incident between Dorchester and Moreton in Dorset four years ago.

He had previously been driving a train which hit a suicide victim.
South West Trains agreed to pay compensation to the driver, who recently retired on grounds of ill health.

After his Weymouth to London Waterloo train hit the goat, which had escaped from a field through a gap in the fence, he was unable to continue driving and could not even travel on a train.

Sarah Wright of Thompsons Solicitors, which represented the driver said: "All too often we see cases of train drivers left with severe psychological trauma as a result of animals straying on to the line in front of them.

"They are usually powerless to prevent impact, death and injury. These incidents often result in drivers being off work for months and can end a career."