Train hits tractor on North Yorkshire level crossing - tractor driver taken to hospital

Emergency services were called out at 6.20pm to reports of the collision at a farm crossing at Flaxby, between Knaresborough and Cattal

The British Transport Police confirmed the tractor driver had been taken to hospital.

Fire, ambulance and police crews were also in attendance.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had five appliances dealing with it.

Two air ambulances, a hazardous area response team, three road ambulances and three rapid response vehicles were also sent to the incident.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Ambulance Service said: “We conveyed one patient to the Harrogate District Hospital, believed to have minor injuries.”

Shortly after the crash British Transport Police tweeted: “We’re on scene at a level crossing in Knaresborough after a train struck a tractor.

“The tractor driver has been taken to hospital.”

Northern Rail suspended train services from York to Harrogate.

The tractor was struck by the 5.29pm Leeds to York train.

Passengers on the train were escorted off and onto busses after the collision.

The train only suffered minor damage in the incident but the tractor’s front end was smashed off.

The incident also caused traffic disruption as the A59 was closed at its junction with the A1 (M) although this has now reopened.