A MAN who fell from his wheelchair or mobility scooter on to the tracks at Petersfield Railway Station was released from under a train by firefighters.

The 80-year-old man, who was described as “conscious and breathing” when he was rescued during the incident on Monday afternoon, was flown to University Hospital in Southampton by the air ambulance, which had landed at Bell Hill recreation ground.

A spokesman for South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said: “We received a number of emergency 999 calls around 1.10pm, reporting that an elderly person on a wheelchair or mobility scooter had lost control on the platform, fallen on to the tracks at Petersfield Train Station in the path of a train as it came into the station.

“We sent a paramedic team leader in a rapid response vehicle, an ambulance, our full hazardous area response team and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance to the incident.

“The patient was an 80-year-old male who had sustained life-threatening injuries.

“After extensive treatment from our teams at the scene, he was then flown to the major trauma centre at University Hospital Southampton.”

A spokesman for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the involvement of crews from Petersfield, Cosham and Liphook who attended the scene.

He said: “They released the male from under the train and into the care of South Central Ambulance Service. He was conscious and breathing.”

The train involved was arriving at Petersfield from the London direction and was slowing down to stop at the station when the incident occurred.

Travellers and other people who arrived at the station soon after it happened were shocked by the circumstances, including a schoolgirl, who is believed to have witnessed the event.

There were some traffic queues in the area for a time as the level crossing barriers across Station Road remained down for more than an hour, preventing vehicles from using the road. Pedestrians were stopped from accessing the footbridge across the tracks while emergency workers helped the victim.

Power on the lines was turned off during the incident and all services halted in both directions between Haslemere and Havant, resuming at about 3.30pm.

A spokesman for British Transport Police said its officers were called to reports of a person being struck by a train at Petersfield Railway Station and attended with paramedics.

The incident was not being treated as suspicious and there was no appeal for witnesses. The current condition of the victim has not been made public.