INVESTIGATIONS are under way today after a woman died in a horror accident on a level crossing in Hampshire.

The woman, in her 50s, was struck by the train travelling at up to 50 miles per hour at a crossing near Romsey.

It was unclear what the woman was doing on the tracks at the Crampmoor Lane Crossing when she was struck by the 10.07am South West Trains Romsey to Salisbury service.

British Transport Police were called to the scene at 10.18am along with an air ambulance, which landed in a field opposite the level crossing.

Train services were stopped for an hour-and-a-half while police carried out an investigation.

The crossing where the incident happened is in a quiet rural area two miles away from the heart of Romsey town centre, and laocals say it is a very popular spot for dog walkers.

A man living nearby who did not want named, said: “I saw the train had stopped, which isn’t unusual round here and then I saw the air ambulance arriving and there were lots of police.

“I’ve been here for ten years and I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s very sad and my thoughts are with the person’s family.”

While Kellie Gilbert, 41, who looks after her two horses in a field in Crampoor Lane that overlooks the train track, said: “I have been coming here for 12 or 13 years now and I have crossed my horses along there hundreds of times and I have always thought it was safe to cross there.

“If I had come here earlier, I would have heard it happen. It is tragic. It is very sad for the driver and for the family of the person.”

The incident comes two weeks after Hampshire teenager Eddie Pearse, 18, died after he was hit by a freight train at Winchester Railway Station.

Romsey Lib Dem councillor Mark Cooper, said that it is the first time he has heard of a death at that crossing during his 28 years as a councillor.

He said: “It is a very quiet crossing on that path and it is used by dog walkers and it is not a heavily used footpath and visibility to see trains there is very good.”

British Transport Police are not treating the woman’s death as suspicious.

A spokesman said: “Enquiries are ongoing to establish the identity of the woman and inform her family.

“A file will be prepared for the coroner.”