A TRAIN driver who had his manslaughter convictions quashed following the Purley rail disaster has died in a river accident on the Isle of Wight.

Robert Morgan, 66, drowned while sailing on the River Medina on Saturday.

Five people died and more than 80 were injured when his train went through a red light and collided with another train outside Purley station in Surrey on March 4, 1989.

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Mr Morgan, from Ferring, near Worthing, West Sussex, was sentenced to 18 months, of which 12 were suspended, after pleading guilty to two counts of manslaughter, later reduced to four months on appeal.

In 2007 at the Court of Appeal he had his convictions quashed on the basis they were unsafe in the light of fresh evidence relating to the signal at the centre of the tragedy.

His appeal hinged on evidence that the signal at the centre of the case had been passed when on red on four previous occasions between 1984 and 1987, and had been passed again in June 1991.

The Purley crash involved the Littlehampton to London Victoria train, which Mr Morgan was driving, and the Horsham to London Victoria service.

Speaking after the case in 2007, he said: ''Well I feel very relieved because I bore this incident on my shoulders for 18 years and being that this new evidence has come it has come as a great relief to me today.''

Today, the coroner's office in Newport, the Isle of Wight, said an inquest was opened and adjourned into Mr Morgan's death on March 24.

A coroner's office spokesman said: "We are aware that he had a boat in the vicinity. By the time people got to him to help, he was already pronounced dead.

"The case is still pending further inquiries and at this moment we are unaware of how he got into the water."

He confirmed the cause of death was drowning and that his next of kin have been informed. He also confirmed his occupation as being a retired train driver.

Mr Morgan's former work colleague, Tony Squires, who was a guard on the train, said today: "It's a shame he died so soon after having his convictions quashed.

"He should never have been charged in the first place, we all knew that. I think the case affected him deeply. He took as much of it on his shoulders as he could but I'm sure it had a huge effect on him personally.

"It would have been a massive weight lifted off his shoulders when he was finally cleared."