PASSENGERS came to the rescue of a disabled woman after her wheelchair plunged on to the tracks at Southend Central rail station minutes before a train was due to arrive.

The woman, in her seventies, was waiting on the London-bound platform when her wheelchair fell 5ft off the platform’s edge, taking her with it.

Four people nearby leapt into action, jumping down on to the track and lifting the wheelchair, with the woman strapped in, back on to the platform.

The 6.15pm train was due and station staff alerted signallers of the incident. The train was only a quarter of a mile away, but by the time it arrived, everyone was off the track. It is understood the woman had a carer with her.

A c2c spokesman said: “A female passenger in a wheelchair fell from the platform on to the track at Southend Central station at about 6.10pm last Wednesday. She was immediately assisted back on to the platform while our station staff contacted the signallers and called an ambulance.”

The woman, whose condition after the accident was not thought to be life-threatening, was taken to Southend Hospital for treatment.