Shocking footage shows the moment a driver came within seconds of being hit by a train

This shocking footage shows the moment a driver came within seconds of being crushed by a fast-moving train after not looking both ways at a crossing.

The motorist can be seen waiting at an open crossing for one train to pass before pulling out - without looking in the other direction to see another one coming.

In the video clip, the car is seen crawling across the crossing as the train steams towards it.

Luckily the individual, who has not been named, manages to get across to the safety of a road just seconds before the train races past.

The British Transport Police (BTP) received the footage and since then the driver has successfully completed an £84 Level Crossing Awareness Course.

The alternative would have been to pay a £100 fixed penalty notice and take three points on their license.

The footage was captured in October on a camera connected to a train in Barrow, Cumbria, and it has since been released by the BTP in a bid to warn others about road safety.

A spokesman said: "This is the moment a car driver at an open level crossing made the dangerous assumption that because one train had passed that it was safe to cross. It wasn't."

They added: "Car driver education is important in reducing these incidents."