Police in Dundee are hunting a man who stood in the middle of a railway track, forcing an oncoming train to make an emergency stop.
Shocked witnesses said the man had straddled the track beside Beach Lane in Broughty Ferry as the train approached from Dundee shortly before 6pm.
Isabel McLean of Constable Lane, whose garden faces the track, said she had seen the man from her upstairs window, standing on the line.
She said: “It was frightening, because I didn’t know what to do.
“He was facing east on the line until he heard the train coming and then he turned around.
“I had heard coughing outside, which I thought was strange. So I stood up and saw this guy in the middle of the train line waving his arms in the air from side to side.
“I ran downstairs to tell him he was a fool and I could hear the rumbling of the train. The train braked and stopped. He just walked to the side and jumped over the wall.
“I came chasing up after him, but couldn’t see him. I think he was on drugs.”
A Beach Lane resident said: “He was standing on the old sewer where they are doing the work at the moment and looked like he was drunk. I thought he was fishing to start off with.
“It was stupid, I don’t know what he was thinking. A neighbour said he jumped into a garden, went up Constable Lane as the Beach lane wall was too high and then went on to Dundee Road.”
The incident sparked a major police operation, with officers patrolling nearby streets on foot and in vehicles in an attempt to trace the man. The man is described as around 5ft 8 in in height, tanned, with dark clothing and a hooded top.
Inspector Graham Young of Police Scotland’s Tayside Division said: “This was absolutely reckless behaviour that not only put the individual at risk, but potentially put the driver and every passenger on that train in danger.
“Despite two police dogs and a plethoa of officers on the ground, we did not trace him. The inquiry is ongoing and we are looking at CCTV in an attempt to trace the man.
“We will be speaking to British Transport Police to see who will take the inquiry forward and we are treating this matter extremely seriously.”
A Scotrail spokeswoman confirmed that the 4.11pm service from Glasgow Queen Street to Arbroath had to make an emergency stop when the man was spotted on the line.
The spokeswoman said: “The driver spotted a person on the tracks and immediately brought the train to a halt. He was able to continue on to Arbroath just a few minutes later.” A BEACH Lane resident said: “He was standing on the old sewer where they are doing the work at the moment and looked like he was drunk. I thought he was fishing to start off with.
“It was stupid, I don’t know what he was thinking. A neighbour said he jumped into a garden, went up Constable Lane as the Beach Lane wall was too high and then went on to Dundee Road.”
The incident sparked a major police operation, with officers patrolling nearby streets on foot and in vehicles in attempt to trace the man.
The man is described as around 5ft 8in, tanned, with dark clothing and a hooded top.
Police Inspector Graham Young said: “This was absolutely reckless behaviour that not only put the individual at risk, but potentially put the driver and every passenger on that train in danger.
“Despite two police dogs and a plethora of officers on the ground, we did not trace him. The inquiry is ongoing and we are looking at CCTV in an attempt to trace the man.
“We will be speaking to British Transport Police to see who will take the inquiry forward and we are treating this matter extremely seriously.”
A ScotRail spokeswoman confirmed that the 4.11pm service from Glasgow Queen Street to Arbroath had to make an emergency stop when the man was spotted on the line.
The spokeswoman said: “The driver spotted a person on the tracks and immediately brought the train to a halt.
“He was able to continue on to Arbroath just a few minutes later,” she added.