HURSTBOURNE Tarrant student Paul Griffiths has spoken of his terrifying ride on the high-speed train which crashed on Saturday - killing seven.

Paul was travelling from Reading to Newbury with three student friends including Ben Simpson from Tadley, when the crash happened.

He had only been in his seat in one of the middle carriages for a few minutes before the train hit a car parked on a level crossing.

He escaped from the mangled train through a smashed window. But he went back into the carriage to help others.

Paul, who is 22 and a student at Bournemouth University, said: "I had been thrown into the air on impact and Lord knows what I hit inside the carriage.

"When I went back into the carriage everybody had managed to get out apart from an elderly woman who was stuck in her seat but she was talking and her husband was with her.

"It was totally black inside but people were able to use the lights from their mobile phones to find their way around.

"I realised I had been injured as my back hurt and I was bleeding from cuts to my hand and my jaw ached.

"At the time I was running on adrenaline.

"I didn't think about the dangers - not until after when I was lying on the grass a little later on.

"Then there was a mix of shock and panic, which combined with the light drizzle, made me feel very cold and I started shaking," he said.

But he added: "I can't praise the emergency services enough. "The first of them, from the fire service, was on the scene within about eight minutes." For the full story see Friday's Andover Advertiser