A driver was crushed to death by a train in a horror smash at a level crossing yesterday.

It was the second rail crash in Sussex within six hours.

The 13.25 Portsmouth to Barnham train veered off the rails after slamming into the vehicle at a crossing by Fishbourne station, near Chichester, at 2.14pm yesterday.

The 30 passengers on board the four-car train were thrown from their seats as the front carriage rode over the car, pushing it up the line and crushing it beyond recognition.

Hours earlier a woman escaped from her broken-down car on a crossing at Barns Green, near Billingshurst, moments before a 70mph train carrying 500 people smashed it to smithereens.

The two crashes threw the county's train network, already buckling from the impact of the cold snap, into chaos.

Passengers on the Barnham train were led to safety by police and paramedics as an investigation was launched.

It took West Sussex firefighters more than two hours to free the body from the wreckage.

Inspector Gary Young, of British Transport Police, said the driver of the green Subaru was a man.

Network Rail laid on an emergency taxi service to allow the 30 shocked commuters to continue their journeys after they were questioned at Chichester police station.

The train driver was unhurt but too shocked to be interviewed by police yesterday.

The car was "extensively damaged" and trapped beneath the train, said Sergeant Jeff Perkins.

He added: "The front section of the train became derailed after the collision but remained upright.

"We are in the process of speaking to the driver to find out exactly what speed the train was going and the circumstances of how the vehicle came to be in the crossing at that particular time."

As night fell, firefighters and police officers were preparing to remove the derailed train from tracks 300m east of Fishbourne station.

The mangled wreckage of the car lay about 50m from the station platform.

People living near the scene described their shock.

There had been safety fears surrounding the single barrier crossing, which is regularly used by children attending the nearby school.

Alexander Bull, 15, was ill in bed when the sound of the crash woke him.

He described it as sounding "like a freight train, more like a giant rumble than a bang."

His father Dr Ray Bull, 55, said: "This is a real tragedy and very worrying.

"This crossing is well used. You often see people walking across even when the barriers are down.

"About a year ago another car got stuck on the track there but luckily the driver got away in time."

Neighbour Peter Byles, 65, said: "The fact it is a single barrier crossing, and not double barrier, has worried people, especially with school children about.

"A lot of people have argued it would be safer if it was a double barrier."

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "I heard what sounded like a great thud, right out of the blue.

"Then the next thing we knew we had police and fire engines coming up and down the road.

"Everyone was worried. It makes you feel sick to your stomach, having something like this happen so close."

A spokeswoman for the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) said the line out of Fishbourne would remain closed into the night.

She said: "We're co-operating with the police in their investigation."

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: "The road and rail line have been closed while we investigate."