A drunk caused the cancellation of 54 trains and triggered £56,000 worth of disruption – after he lay down on a railway line.
Train driver Chris Holway thought alcoholic Steven Oram was dead when he saw him lying across the track between Malvern in Worcestershire and Westbury in Wiltshire, a court heard.
But when police investigated, Oram stood up and told transport cops he must have been beaten up and had no idea how he got there.
Bristol Crown Court heard the incident on February 2 caused commuter misery with the cancellation of 54 services.
Oram, 43, of Bristol, pleaded guilty to obstructing an engine using the railway and jailed the drunk for four months.
Judge Michael Roach was told Oram had been handed alcohol treatment in the past.
“You caused enormous disruption by what you did. The financial side is one thing, the disruption makes the position so much worse,” said Judge Roach.
“What with the alcohol programmes before and your current attitude, I cannot take the course of another community order which would have no practical effect. You have forced my hand.”
Dianne Heys, defending, said Oram sustained injuries in the incident, did not know how he got there, and assumed he must have been assaulted.
