THE ELDEST son of a former Pendle Labour leader has been found dead on a railway line.

John Patrick Nike, 29, suffered multiple injuries after being hit by a train last night on the line between Brierfield and Burnley.

He was the son of former Pendle councillor Susan Nike, who led the Labour group on Pendle Council until she decided not to stand for re-election in May.

A train driver spotted what he thought was a mannequin by the side of the line alongside the Prairie playing fields behind Colne Road, Reedley. When he stopped to investigate he found it was a body and reported the grim discovery to the British Transport Police. The death is not being treated as suspicious.

Today Mrs Nike, of Pasture Lane, Barrowford, said: "He was such a lovely, lovely lad. It's very sad.

"I saw him yesterday afternoon and he was OK. Things were looking up for him. We were looking to the future.

"He was football mad and a brilliant artist and musician. It is the last thing I expected to happen." He was also a regular visitor to the gym at the Thompson Recreation Centre, Burnley. John was being treated for mental health problems at Burnley General Hospital and often walked between the hospital and Barrowford.

He was born in London and moved to Pendle when he was six years old. He attended Holy Saviours RC Primary School, Nelson, and Fisher-More RC High School, Colne, before going to Leeds University to study philosophy.

"In his third year at university he suffered some kind of breakdown," said Mrs Nike. "He has been drifting about for the last three or four years and spent a couple of years living in Reading before moving back up here."

The Transport Police are still trying to discover which train hit Mr Nike. The body was reported by the driver of the 6.09pm service from Colne to Blackpool South but Mr Nike was struck by an earlier train.

Police were examining the previous train along the line to see if it was involved.

Sergeant Aidan Pickering, of the transport police, said: "It's still not clear which train hit him. It's not like being in a car, the train driver doesn't always know he's hit something."

The coroner has been informed about the incident. In the case of a death on the railway line a full jury inquest has to be held.

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