Inquest held into death of man found on railway tracks near Dewsbury

James Benjamin Lee, 24, was hit by the 4.30am Manchester to York service on July 21 this year.

Train driver Darren Price said he was going through Ravensthorpe at 5.48am when heard a slight bang. He stopped and inspected the train, but did not think there was anything to report because the noise was one he heard most days.

But Det Insp David Boldison from British Transport Police said he believed Mr Price’s train was the one which hit Mr Lee.

The court heard Mr Lee was from Brighouse but was living with girlfriend Tazeem Hussain and her three children in Burgh Mill Lane, Dewsbury, at the time of his death. She told the inquest at Huddersfield, that Mr Lee had told her he had attempted suicide in the past, but she did not think his death was on purpose.

Miss Hussain said: “He told me he was the happiest he had ever been and me and my children meant more to him than life itself.”

The court heard Mr Lee had been struggling at work at Mars Complementary Pet Care in Birstall after falling out with a colleague.

The night before his death Mr Lee left home at 9pm. CCTV footage, viewed later, showed him leaving Asda with a bottle of rum.

She said when he did not return she tried to ring his mobile phone but there was no answer. The next morning she discovered he had died.

A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Lee had died from multiple injuries.

Recording an open verdict, coroner Roger Whittaker said there was not enough evidence to determine whether Mr Lee’s death was an accident or if he had intended to take his life.