Jail for drunk railway worker found unconscious at Yorkshire crossing

A district judge heard that Peter Singleton, 29, was almost three times the drink-drive limit and more than seven times Network Rail’s drinking limit when paramedics were called to his cabin at the Crofton Crossing, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, last month.

Wakefield Magistrates’ Court was told that a colleague found Singleton on the evening of October 18 slumped and unconscious with a train waiting for permission to cross.

Singleton is an alcoholic with a range of health problems, the court heard, but District Judge Jonathan Bennett said he had no choice but to send him to prison.

District Judge Bennett said: “You held a very important and responsible job.

“The lives of literally hundreds of people were in your hands.”

Singleton, of Roger Drive, Sandal, near Wakefield, admitted at a previous hearing a charge of being unfit to work through drink or drugs while working as a gatekeeper on a level crossing.