TGV runs over man sleeping on tracks

Lucky escape as high-speed train fails to kill, injure or even wake up drunken music festival-goer

A DRUNKEN music festival fan has escaped unharmed after a TGV ran over the top of him as he slept between the train tracks on the Paris-Quimper line.

The train driver had spotted a body on the line about 10.00 on Sunday but could not halt in time – the stopping distance of a TGV being around half a mile.

When the driver ran back he discovered the young man was fast asleep – so fast asleep he could not be wakened.

Gendarmes and rescue teams arrived at the scene in Morbihan and had no more success until suddenly he opened an eye, made a rude hand sign to the crowd and fell back asleep.

The 19-year-old, from the Lorient area, was taken to hospital in Vannes. He had a ticket from a music festival at Saint-Nolff which had gone on until the early hours of Sunday.