A HEREFORD man bent on suicide survived after jumping in front of a train, a court heard.

The driver, who screeched to a halt, thought he had run down Michael Harwood but then saw him standing unscathed.

Ordered to get off the track, Harwood berated the driver and called him "a fat scouse".

Another train also pulled up in time, and Harwood threatened to "do him in", said Stephen Davies, prosecuting.

The terrifying incident on January 31 happened after the schizophrenic travelled to Liverpool to see his sister.

He was standing on the platform at the city's Lime Street station before leaping onto the track.

Harwood, aged 28, of Golden Post, Hunderton, pleaded guilty to obstructing an engine and to two common assaults on policemen who arrested him.

Judge Alistair McCreath adjourned the case at Worcester Crown Court until April 4 for an updated psychiatric report.

He said it must be a train driver's nightmare for someone to jump onto the track.

Police arrested Harwood after watching CCTV footage and going to his sister's address. He spat at two officers.

The incident caused a rail delay lasting nearly ten hours and cost the railway £2,312, the court was told.

Andrew Davidson, defending, said Harwood went to Liverpool to find solace in his family after a disappointment in his personal life.

"But he lost control after drinking and tried to commit suicide in front of a train," he added. "He is glad no-one got hurt."

The defendant had suffered severe mental illness for some time, was on medication and was monitored by a psychiatric nurse.

The judge said he wanted to help Harwood, not send him to prison where too many people with mental illness were being wrongly held.