COMMUTERS watched in horror as a man plunged in front of an 80-mile-an-hour train at a Hampshire station.

The man was killed instantly by the high-speed London-bound train, which was travelling through the Hinton Admiral station.

Services in both directions between Brockenhurst and Bournemouth were stopped as officers quizzed the driver of the engine and three witnesses on the platform.

One bystander, a teenage boy, was so shaken by the ordeal he had to be treated for shock.

Passengers were delayed by up to half-an-hour in both directions as British Transport police officers dealt with the situation.

Investigating officer Sgt Mick Boot, confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

He added: "There were three witnesses on the platform and they all saw the man plunge into the path of the oncoming train. The train wasn't due to stop. It was doing 80mph.

"The driver was a little bit shaken but he was okay. The more he thought about it the more emotional he became. He's been taken off his duties for the rest of the day."

The sergeant was still waiting to confirm the identity of the man, who was dressed in a green T-shirt, black jeans and blue coat, but believed he was a 52-year-old from Christchurch.

He said: "We've taken finger prints from the body and we will go to the address where we believe he lived and hopefully find prints there which will match."

Michael Cavanagh, a spokesman for South West Trains, said: "The train involved was the 9.08am from Weymouth to Waterloo. The train struck a person while travelling at high speed through the station and then came to a halt about half a mile from the London side of the platform.

"We arranged buses which travelled in each direction. Things were working as normally as possible by about 1pm."