A LORRY driver could have caused a “catastrophe” when he crashed into a level crossing seconds before a train went through it, York Magistrates' Court heard.

Immediately after the passenger train had passed, Louis Hughes, 40, moved the wreckage of the crossing’s barrier to one side and, with the crossing’s red lights still flashing and warning of danger, drove his HGV over the crossing and away, said Phil Morris, prosecuting.

Hughes’ actions put the level crossing in Millfield Lane on the outskirts of York out of action for both trains and cars.

Read more about the kind of  problems caused when the Millfield Lane level crossing is out of action.

Today Hughes is jobless, banned from the roads and subject to a suspended prison sentence.

He will have to pay the full cost of putting the level crossing back into working order. He lives on universal credit.

“Your driving was not prolonged, but it did involve a deliberate disregard for the safety of others,” district judge Adrian Lower told Hughes.

“First you go through the barrier when a train was coming. Fortunately, you didn’t collide with the train, the consequences of which would have been catastrophic, both for you and the passengers and driver of the train.

“Then you make things worse.

“You wouldn’t have had any idea whether there may have been another train coming. You took that risk. As you drove across the crossing you could easily have been struck by another train with all that could entail.

“You ran the risk of leaving your large family without a father. It was very selfish, and very foolish,” said the judge.

Hughes, of Holyhead Close, Warrington, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on March 17, 2022, at Millfield Lane level crossing.

He was given a 20-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months on condition he does 150 hours’ unpaid work.

He was also banned from driving for two years and must take an extended driving test before driving alone again. He must pay £1,423 compensation to Network Rail.

Mr Morris said the red lights were flashing for at least 30 seconds before the barrier was lowered and the barrier was down when Hughes drove into it.

The level crossing was out of action for 58 minutes.

His solicitor Vicky Balinski said Hughes would have difficulty getting an HGV driving licence in future. He had worked as a lorry driver for seven years, driving 2,500 miles a week and had no penalty points or motoring convictions.

He was travelling at 8mph when he hit the barrier and had misjudged the distance to it. His actions after the collision were “borne out of practical thinking about what to do immediately, rather than thinking about the risk of what he was doing and what could have happened".

Hughes had checked that there was not a second train before crossing the track, she said.

He had tried to contact British Transport Police immediately after the incident without success and had reported it to his employer.