POLICE dealt with a serious incident at York Railway Station today, after a man fell from a clock outside the Victorian building.

He was flown by air ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary with serious head injuries after climbing on to the clock in front of York station, before falling in front of horrified commuters and passers-by just after 10am.

The taxi rank and bus stops outside York's station were closed by police along with Queen Street and Station Road in York as emergency crews attended the scene. The air ambulance  also landed in the grounds of the Principal York hotel adjoined to the station.

Chris Sellars, a taxi operator from York Station Taxis told The Northern Echo one of the taxi drivers had seen a man climb up on to the top of the clock outside the station and she rang the police. 

The Northern Echo:

"They station is closed up with police tape at the moment and they're still sorting the guy out at the front of the station. They're still working on him," she said.

"One of the drivers told me somebody had climbed up on to the clock and I rang the police. The police came out straight away to try and talk him down. 

"The next thing we know we heard the crowds outside make a noise and he had fallen.

"We are still shaken here."

The Northern Echo:

A spokeswoman for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 10.28am this morning to a male who had fallen from the clock. We sent an emergency care practitioner, a clinical supervisor, an ambulance and air ambulance to the scene.

"The patient was taken by air ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary with serious head injuries."

Bus services to and from the train station were re-routed and York Station Taxis moved out of the station to Leeman Road Post Office. 

One bystander at the scene said: "I was awaiting my bus to the university, and noticed two police officers stood outside of the station, and looked up and realised they were looking at a man sat on top of the clock.

"I didn't quite hear what the police were saying to the man, but I saw that they were attempting to calm him down and get him down from there.

"I then had to catch my second bus after capturing the footage. Around 20 minutes following this, I then heard that he had jumped."

Virgin Trains said services to and from the station remained open but the dropping off area in front of the station was closed for some time while emergency crews dealt with the incident.

A spokeswoman said: "The access area outside the station and the taxi ranks and bus lanes are closed. 

"For people wanting to use the station, it can still be accessed."