A TEENAGER was run over by a train when his lone game of 'chicken' on a railway track fatally misfired.

Stephen Douglas was driving a passenger train which needed a quarter of a mile distance to stop, when, on rounding a curve, he saw 19-year-old Ben Williams, lying across the rails - just 120 yards ahead of him.

The train driver told a Middlesbrough inquest: "I made an emergency brake application and sounded the horn. I saw the male sit up and look at me.

"He did not get straight up and it seemed to take him two or three seconds for him to realise he was in danger.

"He got to his feet and kicked off, trying to run out of the way, but he slipped on a sleeper. By this time I was on top of him. He started crawling to try and pull himself out of the way; then I lost sight of him, as he went under the front of the train.''

Teesside Coroner Michael Sheffield heard that Ben, of Ida Street, Middlesbrough, suffered from Attention Deficiency Disorder with hyper activity, and was an attention seeker, who often laughed when the risks and dangers of situations were pointed out to him.

Saudhul Zaman bumped into Ben in Middlesbrough on Sunday July 27, last year - the day Ben died. The duo had enjoyed a stag party the previous night in Newcastle.

Mr Zaman said of his friend's demeanour: "He seemed happy, just normal. I could not pick fault with him.''

Mr Douglas was driving an Arriva passenger train from Whitby to Middlesbrough, when he saw Ben lying across the track.

Pathologist Dr Mustansir Nurbhai said Ben's death would have been instantaneous, from shock as a result of "extremely severe'' injuries.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, Mr Sheffield said: "He has to a large extent been the author of his own misfortune. He had taken a reckless course of action by lying on the line. It's not certain why he should have done that.''

Ben died near Longlands Road railway bridge, Middlesbrough, near his home.