A TEENAGER died when he was hit by a freight train on the East Coast Main Line viaduct at Durham City.

An inquest jury heard that Oliver Marris, 18, of Nevilles Cross Bank, in the city, sustained massive injuries early one morning in May.

Train driver David Griffiths said that as he rounded a bend at 5am, he saw a body on the line with its head on one rail.

He thought it was a tailor's dummy, but checks later revealed it was human.

PC Steve Strong, of the British Transport Police, said there was an unofficial crossing point south of the viaduct, but the collision happened in the centre of the viaduct.

He added that on the balance of probabilities Mr Marris was hit by one train.

Mr Marris's girlfriend Kirsty Southam said they went drinking in Durham the previous afternoon, when they argued about him using his father's credit card.

They went out in the evening, ending up in Klute nightclub, but after another argument she returned home early.

Mr Marris arrived at her flat at 2.15am, but she ordered him to leave after another argument when he smashed ornaments.

Mr Marris's mother, Julie, said he had started a business studies course at New College, but was disillusioned and thinking of taking another subject.

He had seen a psychiatrist and been prescribed anti-depressants, and was more positive in the fortnight before his death.

"He was very strong. He was very kind and considerate. He was very caring," she said.

Mr Marris's father, Robert, said it was "out of character'' for his son to use his credit card.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death