THE driver who skidded into the path of an oncoming train has relived the drama – and revealed his daughter was one of its passengers.

Brian Lakin, 64, also told how he rang his wife, Pauline, after the crash, telling her: “Don’t worry – I’ve just been hit by a train”.

He relived the drama as York, North Yorkshire and East Yorkshire endured another day of snow chaos.

More than 100 schools across the region were closed yesterday. There was also widespread disruption on the roads, and some rural businessmen said they were in danger of losing their livelihoods as their customers were snowed out.

In York, there were also fears after reports of children playing on frozen Rawcliffe Lake.

Mr Lakin’s drama unfolded when he skidded on ice while driving to work and ended up stuck on the rails at Hagg Lane level crossing, as the 75 mph, 180-tonne Hull to Manchester TransPennine Express headed towards him.

He averted a potential disaster by running up the track and waving his arms to alert the train driver, who made an emergency stop and only nudged the car.

“I knew the train was coming as the barriers were coming down.

“You don’t think but I knew exactly what I was going to do. I knew I had to get out of the car, I left the lights on and turned the engine off. This was all in ten seconds.”

Mr Lakin then set off down the track towards the oncoming train waving his arms.

Fortunately, the train driver applied the emergency brake in time and ended up just nudging the car a few feet, although it did smash its rear window.

Mr Lakin wanted to pay tribute to the driver of the train, who has not been identified.

He said: “You can’t say enough about the train driver, he was brilliant, he must have been alert.”

He said the Great Heck disaster did not occur to him until others mentioned it, but he was off work yesterday as he had been unable to sleep the night of the accident.

He said: “The ambulance and first-aiders warned me that shock might kick in. I didn’t sleep, I had a bad night and I should have been driving to work so my wife told me I was not going.”