A man has tragically died on train tracks near a level crossing.

Emergency crews including the air ambulance service were called to the tracks near Forest Hall, North Tyneside on Thursday (July 20) afternoon after reports of a casualty on the mainline.

Police and paramedics attended but the man, in his forties, was pronounced dead at the scene.

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The incident is not being treated as suspicious.

The road was temporarily closed near to the station pub in Forest Hall.

A spokesperson for the British Transport Police said: “We were called at 3pm yesterday (20 July) to reports of a casualty on the tracks at Killingworth.

“Officers attended alongside colleagues from the ambulance service but sadly a person was pronounced dead at the scene.

“The incident is not believed to be suspicious, and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”

A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson added: “We were called to an incident in Killingworth shortly after 3pm on July 20.

“We dispatched two crews from our Hazardous Area Response Team, one ambulance crew, a clinical team leader and a specialist paramedic, and requested support from Great North Air Ambulance.”

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