A PRESTONPANS train driver who stopped a man from committing suicide on the railway tracks has been nominated for an award for his actions.

Adrian Bayne undertook a Samaritans suicide intervention training course after a friend took his own life three years ago.

And his training helped him save the life of a young man who was planning to kill himself at Edinburgh’s Waverley Station.

Father-of-two Mr Bayne, who has worked on the railways since he was 16, has been nominated for an award by his bosses at Virgin Trains.

And he was also named as a finalist in the Samaritans Life Saver Awards, which were held last week.

Mr Bayne said: “It is so important that mental health issues are talked about and training given.

“As a train driver I know we are right at the front when there is a suicide on the tracks.

“It has an impact on so many people.”

Samaritans have been working with Network Rail on programmes to try and reduce the number of suicides or suspected suicides on the tracks. Last year 252 such deaths were recorded in the UK.

Mr Bayne has been a driver on the tracks for 16 years and has never had to deal with a suicide while in control of a train, but he is aware of the impact on others. He said when a friend took his own life he began asking what he could do.

He said: “I went on the Samaritans course and learned the signs to look out for.

“In hindsight the signs were there with my friend but I did not know to look for them. A couple of months ago I spotted a young man at Waverley station who just seemed to be in trouble.

“I struck up a conversation and could tell from his closed answers and his behaviour something was wrong.

“I managed to get a hold of his phone and found messages that he was going to commit suicide.

“I alerted the British Transport Police and then called his mum to reassure her he was safe.”

As well as driving trains, Mr Bayne, who lives on Caledonian Crescent, is a Virgin Trains community ambassador for the east coast, helping raise money and support for communities across the east of Scotland.

Last week he walked 17 miles to raise funds for a primary school in Kirkcaldy.

The walk aims to raise £1,500 to support a breakfast club in the town..

Graeme McKinnie, Virgin Trains’ General Manager for Scotland, said: “Adrian plays a huge role and is well-known and well-liked by colleagues and the communities he works with. We’ve all got our fingers crossed for him at the awards night.”

To find out more about his fundraising work go to justgiving.com/crowd funding/breakfast-club