A North-East man is lucky to be alive - after being hit by a speeding express train and living to tell the tale.

John Scouler was out walking his dog when he was hit by a loco on the East Coast Main Line - the fastest rail route in Britain.

Amazingly, even though he was injured, Mr Scouler was well enough to walk to a friend's house where he rang for an ambulance.

The 58-year-old dad somehow only suffered minor injuries when he was hit by a speeding train doing over 100 mph on the line between Newcastle and Edinburgh.

John's family dubbed him the luckiest man alive after the accident, which has flabbergasted emergency services.

John, a retired joiner, of Dudley, North Tyneside, was walking his two-year-old King Charles Spaniel Lady, over a footpath crossing the line when a thundering train took him by surprise.

His son Mark Scouler, 22, from Dudley, said: "Nobody can believe what has happened. He is so lucky to be alive.

"You don't get hit by a train and walk off but that's exactly what happened to dad.

"The footpath crosses the track but it is on a bend. You only see along the track for about a hundred yards and he didn't hear the train.

"He said he only saw it at the last minute and raced forward to get out the way.

"It just clipped his back and sent him spinning to the ground. The dog was very lucky too - fortunately she was walking in front of him.

"Dad actually walked to a friend's house to ring for an ambulance, even though he was in quite a lot of pain.

"He is sitting up in bed in the hospital and he is OK, but I think what has happened is starting to dawn on him. He is still very shocked.

The accident happened at 1.45pm on Saturday, at the crossing near Wansbeck Road, Dudley.

Emergency crews rushed to his friend's nearby house and he was taken by ambulance to Newcastle General Hospital suffering from a back injury and shock.

He has received treatment to the muscles in his back and doctors say he will need plastic surgery to the skin.

A spokesman for British Transport Police said: "He was very, very lucky to survive and it has amazed everyone that he was OK."

The train that hit him was the 10:37am express from King's Cross to Edinburgh.

Police believe that the path where Mr Scoular was walking is a pedestrian crossing.