THE family of an 83-year-old man who died after he was hit by a train on an unmanned Hampshire railway crossing on his mobility scooter have called for safety improvements to prevent further deaths.

Derek Thomas was hit by the train, which had left Alton station heading for London Waterloo, as he was crossing at the small station near his home in Bentley, Hampshire, an inquest at Basingstoke heard.

The retired carpenter and printer had been taking his dog Maisie for a walk when the accident happened at about 4.20pm on October 5 last year.

The black Labrador was found growling near its owner's body.

The driver of the train, George Hornby, who works for South West Trains, said he had seen Mr Thomas when he was travelling at 70mph about 135 yards (125m) away and the impact would have happened about three to four seconds later.

He said he sounded the train's horn and applied the emergency brake but the train could not stop in time.

He said: "I do not believe he was alarmed or aware what was happening.

"I do not believe he placed himself in front of the train deliberately but it was a total accident."

The inquest heard that a post-mortem examination showed Mr Thomas would have died instantaneously from multiple injuries.

Sergeant Mark Stook, of British Transport Police, said the crossing was 3ft (1m) wide with a non-slip coating with no gates or barriers but with a sign saying "Stop, look, listen".

He added: "It's down to the user to check both ways to see if it's safe to cross."

Paul Tickner, of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), said that a low sun and wind gusts could have restricted the extent to which Mr Thomas could see or hear the train.

Mr Thomas's brother, Graham, 77, said: "My feeling is that if nothing is done we could see a second death because a lot of people use that crossing."

Mr Thomas's daughter, Carin Harrington, said that lights were needed to give pedestrians a proper warning, and added: "The crossing was made for steam trains."

Coroner Andrew Bradley said that the RAIB was continuing its investigation into the crossing and would make any recommendations for improvements to Network Rail.

He said he would examine the report, adding: "These crossings were made for 30mph trains and steam trains. Let's see what they say about it."

The inquest jury returned a narrative verdict.