A SIGNALMAN from Basingstoke has been hailed a hero after averting a collision between two trains.

Les Hayes, 46, and his team of signallers were working at Victoria Station on Tuesday, January 2, when at 11.30pm a Connex South Central train travelling to Horsham was allowed to pass through a red light.

At the same time, another Connex train going to East Grinstead set off. It is believed that a signal failure left both sets of lights on red and the two trains were allowed to depart.

But quick action by Les and an assistant signaller at the station managed to stop the two trains when they were just feet apart.

At a press conference, modest Les claimed he was not a hero and praised his fellow workers.

"I am grateful for the praise I received after my actions but I am certain that I did the same as any other signaller would have done in the same situation," he said.

He added: "Signalling is a team effort and, last night, the whole team pulled together.

"As soon as we realised there was a problem, we sent an emerg-ency stop message to the drivers and ordered the power to be switched off to make sure the trains stopped.

"Tuesday night showed the team at its best and we're obviously pleased our efforts are appreciated."

Les, who has worked on the railways for more than 30 years, described the possible outcome had the trains not stopped as "frightening".

Les (pictured above, at the Railtrack press conference) started working on the railways as a box boy in 1970.

Michael Holden, director of Railtrack Southern, paid tribute to the actions of Les and his team.

"The prompt action that Les took on Tuesday night at Victoria was highly commendable and I thank him and his team for their quick thinking and composure in what must have been a stressful situation."

Railtrack has launched an investigation into the incident.