Dozy van driver banned for smashing through a level crossing to try to beat the barriers

A dozy van driver was banned from the roads for 18 months for smashing through a level crossing barrier - seconds before a speeding train was due.

Emanuel Goagara, 36, cost taxpayers over £60,000 when he rammed his van through the barrier - despite ten seconds of warning lights and signal tones.

He caused more than ten hours of delays in July last year and left the barrier lying on the tracks before pulling over on the nearby pavement in Sunningdale, Berkshire.