A teenager was lucky to be alive after surviving a horrifying 30-foot fall at a railway station.

The 19-year-old man suffered serious head and back injuries in the incident at Chelmsford Railway Station on Thursday night after apparently climbing on to a high barrier.

The man fell from the balcony at the top of the stairs which links the platform to the main entrance area. He fell about 30 feet onto the marble floor below.

PC Robert Brignell, of British Transport Police at Ipswich, said the teenager was lucky to be alive after the horror drop on to the hard surface.

He said: "He is seriously ill and still in hospital at Broomfield where he is undergoing treatment.

"We are quite sure at this stage that there was no third party involved and it was not suspicious, but we do not think that it was done intentionally," added PC Brignell.

He said that he had spoken to some witnesses at the scene last night but was urging others who saw the incident to come forward and give their own account.

A spokeswoman at Great Eastern Railways urged people to be sensible at stations and avoid dangerous activities.

She said: "It was a serious incident. People should think about their family and friends when they do this kind of thing.

"He had gone out enjoying himself and then arrived back and got hurt. We discourage that kind of behaviour," she added.

The incident comes just days after a construction worker died after an accident at a building site in the town.

The Health and Safety Executive is investigating the death of Derek Ireland who fell from a steel frame at the new Anglia Polytechnic University on Tuesday morning.

He was taken by the Essex Air Ambulance to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, where he later died from his injuries.

Anyone with information on the fall at the rail station is asked to contact British Transport Police on 01473 601978.

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