Families remember Ladbroke Grove disaster

Credit: Neil Munns/PA Wire Credit:

This morning, 15 years to the minute after two trains crashed almost head-on at Ladbroke Grove, the families of those who lost their lives gathered to remember them.

At 8.08am on the morning of October 5 1999, a rush-hour train collided almost head on with a London-bound high-speed train which was heading for Paddington station.

The subsequent inquiry into the disaster revealed that the Thames Trains service travelling from Paddington to Bedwyn in Wiltshire had gone through a red signal before crashing into the First Great Western (FGW) train.

Michael Roberts, director-general of the Rail Delivery Group, which speaks on behalf of Network Rail and the train operators, said:

Among those at today's service was Mark Ramage, who survived the crash and helped to pull others from the wreckage. Birgit Anderson's daughter Charlotte died in the crash. David Wood reports: