AN office worker who was one of the first on the scene of the Potter Bar Rail crash has described seeing bodies lying on the track after the 2002 accident.

Mr Ticehurst was the first witness to give evidence to the inquest into the deaths of seven people who died in the May 10, 2002 train crash.

He told the hearing he heard the crash from his office which overlooks the station and was one of the first on the scene to help the injured passengers.

He said: “I heard and felt it. There was a rush and the building shook then a loud bang.

“I rushed to the window to see what had gone on. There was a carriage going across both platforms straddling the track.

“There was a lot of dust and debris in the air.”

Mr Ticehurst rushed to the aid of a man who had been thrown from the train and was suffering leg and head injuries, and saw a woman lying on the track unconscious.

He said: “A lady got out of the train, was walking around for a little bit and then she collapsed. Another gentleman got out and walked around and then he seemed to collapsed.

“There were lots of people around, from the surrounding area, giving first aid. Lots of first aid kits appeared to appear from nowhere.”

He stayed with the injured man until the paramedics arrived and took over treating the injured passengers.

Signals expert Roger Badger was on the 12.45pm train from King's Cross to King's Lynn which derailed just outside Potters Bar station, sending the fourth carriage crashing a railway bridge and coming to rest on its side on the platform.

He described a “series of violent jolts” as the train came off the rails and told the jury the driver of the train said to him “I've lost everything”as power was cut to the stricken train.

He tried to phone from assistance after the front part of the train came to rest 400m after the station, but quickly realised power had been cut after the derailment.