HEALTH and safety bosses have launched an investigation after a Hampshire freight depot worker had part of his leg amputated in a work accident.

As reported in yesterday's Daily Echo, the man was believed to have been caught under a rear wagon of a goods train while it was being moved at the Dutton Lane railway yard in Eastleigh.

The man, believed to be in his 40s and from the Southampton area, was rushed to hospital by paramedics who were called to the scene by the victim's worried friend.

An investigation has now been launched into how the worker, who has not been named, fell onto the tracks at 7.45pm on Saturday.

A spokesman for British Transport Police said it is believed the man was on the back of the train and in communication with the driver when he slipped off.

A spokesman for Hampshire Ambulance service said the man had a "partial amputation of his right leg from the calf downward".

Police and fire crews assisted paramedics as they were forced to leave their ambulance at the nearest road entrance and cross half a mile of railway tracks to reach the worker, who was taken to Southampton General Hospital.

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said: "An inspector has visited the site and an investigation is being launched into how the accident occurred, and what went wrong in terms of safety procedures."

The accident happened on land owned by English Welsh and Scottish (EWS) Railway, Britain's largest freight company, which moves 100 million tonnes of cars, timber and steel every year.

An EWS spokesman said: "The cause of the incident is still being investigated."

The worker, who has not been named, is now recovering in hospital.