A railway worker who was seriously injured when on a manual level crossing has told how the dangers presented by motorists were regarded as being part of the job.

Signaller Doug Caddell said near misses with drivers swerving around the gates at East Farleigh station near Maidstone were “a quite frequent” hazard.

He said the only mandatory protective equipment for signallers at the station was a high visibility tabard or jacket.

Shortly before a car hit the gate and struck him, knocking him unconscious and breaking his neck, he narrowly avoided being injured by another car.

He had reported that incident to both his line manager at Network Rail and British Transport Police.

But just five hours later he suffered two vertebrae in his neck were fractured when a car struck the gate he was closing.

Giving evidence at Maidstone Crown Court three years later to the day, Mr Caddell said full protective equipment for staff was not used and the crossing had no traffic lights or reflective strips to warn approaching traffic.

Such safety measures were, however, introduced after the accident on April 24, 2015.

Mr Caddell, 65, said training in closing the gates was simply based on a “show and tell” method. There was no discussion on how to deal with driver misuse of the crossing.

"If I saw a car coming towards me that was obviously not stopping I would walk backwards and pull the gate with me", he said.

"It happened quite frequently at East Farleigh. It's difficult to quantify but I could have several issues within one day and then not have one for a fortnight."

Mr Caddell said a close-call system was introduced for reporting incidents.

"To a degree it was accepted as part of the job,” he said. “It was not one we were happy with but one that was part of the job.

"There was no specific response (from line managers) other than expressing sympathy. That was it really. As long as you had a high visibility tabard or jacket, it

was deemed acceptable."

Mr Caddell said his last memory before being treated by paramedics was reaching for the door to leave the signal box to close the gates.

He was given specialist treatment at London’s King's College Hospital, but he developed pneumonia and was not discharged until two weeks later.

Network Rail denies contravening the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 between February 23 2014 and April 25 2015 by failing to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the health and safety risks to employees.

The company also denies failing to discharge the duty imposed by the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 by failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees.

The trial continues.