Person Taken to Hospital After Early-Morning Incident Near Gillingham

Emergency services were called to a section of railway in Dorset during the early hours after reports of an injured person on the tracks near Gillingham. The response involved police, ambulance crews and firefighters, with access to the casualty complicated by the location near a railway bridge.

Fire crews closed the nearby B3081 while specialist equipment was brought in to reach the person, who was located on an embankment beside the line. A ladder was used as part of the rescue operation before the casualty was brought to safety.

Police later confirmed the individual was taken to hospital with injuries that were not believed to be serious. The railway line, which forms part of the Exeter to Waterloo route, was temporarily closed while emergency teams worked at the scene.

A spokesperson for British Transport Police said:

"Officers were called to the line in Gillingham at 2.47am today following reports of a casualty on the tracks. Paramedics also attended, and a person was taken to hospital with injuries that are not thought to be life-changing or life-threatening. The incident is not being treated as suspicious."

Firefighters said crews from several locations were mobilised to assist with the rescue during the early morning hours.

A spokesperson for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said:

“We were called to a bridge near Gillingham railway station at 3.10am to assist with rescuing a casualty from an embankment. A crew from Gillingham attended, along with the aerial ladder platform from Yeovil and the technical rescue team from Poole."

Ambulance services confirmed multiple resources were sent to the scene, with the patient later transported to hospital for treatment.

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said:

“We were called at 2.48am on Wednesday 31 December to an incident in Gillingham. We sent two double-crewed land ambulances, and an operations officer to the scene. We conveyed one patient by land ambulance to Salisbury District Hospital.”

Rail operators said services were not disrupted despite the temporary closure of the line.

A spokesperson for South Western Railway said:

“The line was closed in the Gillingham area allow the emergency services to deal with an incident near the track in early hours this morning December 31. I can confirm that no SWR services were affected and the line was reopened at 4.32am.”

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