A 70-year-old man was left with head and back injuries after he was hit by a train this afternoon.

Platform 1 at Blackburn Station was cordoned off when the man plunged onto the tracks and was struck by the Colne train around 4pm.

Passengers on the train were led off while paramedics and firefighters pulled the pensioner out from under the locomotive.

A long board was used by the emergency services to remove him safely.

The man had been conscious and was breathing when they arrived, according to the ambulance service.

He was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital where his condition tonight was described as ‘non life-threatening’.

A spokeswoman for British Transport Police said: “At 4.02pm a man was struck by a train at Blackburn Railway Station.

"He had got down on the tracks. He was taken off in an ambulance and taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”

The man was overheard telling a couple he was going to Colne on the train.

A spokeswoman for the North West Ambulance Service said: “A 70-year-old male was reported to have come off the platform in front of a train.

“He was fully conscious and breathing.

“The male was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital with back and head injuries.”

Network Rail said the man ‘fell’ in front if the 14.44 Blackpool South train that was en route to Colne.

As a result services were ‘slightly’ delayed and disruption was kept to a minimum.