Gaelic sportsman hit by train after darts championship - inquest

A "talented" teenage Gaelic sportsman was soaked from the waist down and not wearing shoes when he was hit by a train in London, an inquest has heard.

Connor Marron, 19, was hit by an empty stock train at 48mph (77 km/h) just north of Hornsey Station on 2 January.

North London Coroner's Court heard there was no indication of how the student had come to enter the track.

He had been attending the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace when he was last seen.

The court heard that while leaving the venue, Mr Marron, from Ahoghill, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, discovered his phone was lost and had left his friend to find it.

He had been drinking in the capital and during the quarter-final event, the inquest heard.

It was the first time he had visited London and had no money on him at the time of the incident.

British Transport Police (BTP) said Mr Marron had been found in the early hours of the morning.

Senior coroner Andrew Walker said: "He was crossing from one side to the other. It was clear he wasn't able to cross in time and was struck as he was crossing."

Mr Walker added there might have been an "inconsistency in the fencing" around the track, allowing Mr Marron to cross.

Members of Mr Marron's family said they believed he had gone through water and "hit a brick wall" when coming across the track.

"If you look at the area, there's nowhere to go. He went up through the water and up to the track, maybe to get away from something," they said.

A tribute from the family said he had been "passionate about sports" and had played for his local Gaelic football team, as well as competing nationally at snooker.

He had attended a grammar school and was a second-year Human Resources student at Ulster University.

Friends described him as "happy, outgoing, with a wonderful sense of humour", while his girlfriend said he was "not like other boys" and "loved to go out and do things".

The inquest was adjourned until 7 June.