Graham Saville’s family and Nottinghamshire Police Federation issue statements following inquest conclusion

A devastated family have spoken out after the inquest into the death of a police sergeant who was struck by a train concluded.

Sergeant Graham Saville was attempting to save a person in distress, referred to at the inquest as Patient C, on the railway line near Hollowdyke Lane, Balderton, on August 24, 2023, when he was struck by a train travelling 125mph.

The inquest, which was held at Nottingham Council House last week, heard that Graham died at Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, on August 29.

The coroner, Laurinda Bower, found that Nottinghamshire Police failed to identify the obvious risk of death posed to officers entering a live railway line and concluded that his death was “wholly preventable”.

Graham’s family, who was present throughout the duration of the inquest, said in a statement that they had waited almost two years to fully understand what happened on August 24, the day ‘Graham went off to work as usual, but never came home’.

They said: “It was our hope that this would be a thorough review, that no stone would be left unturned and that we would have the answers to all of our questions.

“Without doubt, this process has been robust, but it has unfortunately revealed some shocking and disturbing information about Nottinghamshire Police as an organisation. Put simply, we have learnt that they failed in their duty of care to protect their employees.”

Graham’s family added that the inquest has identified deficiencies in so many areas, which, had they been in place and followed, could have prevented this tragedy occurring, which was “devastating to hear”.

“Given the level of detail we now know, it is also disappointing that no action was taken against patient C, who was the root cause of the incident,” they added.

“However, what this inquiry has shown us was that Graham, and his colleagues on the ground responding to the incident, were focussed on protecting and serving, which is what being a police officer is about, and we believe it is important to shine a light on this aspect; Officers who go to work and uphold the principles of public service with honour and integrity.

“Many hundreds of officers across the country fulfil this duty day in and day out and this is never acknowledged.

“Acting with honour and integrity - there is no greater legacy a father can leave to his children.”

Nottinghamshire Police Federation issued a statement following the inquest, which said that the tragic events of that day highlight the “complexities of modern policing”.

“Graham went to work that day to serve and protect the people of Nottinghamshire. He deserved to go home to his family at the end of his shift,” the statement said, “Tragically, he didn’t.

“Our members deserve and have a right to be properly trained and have sufficient procedures in place to be able to do their job safely, in order to provide the very best service they can.

“What is abundantly clear is that there were failings in respect of these procedures.

“On behalf of our members, we stand ready as a critical friend, to work with the Force and rectify the issues identified, ensuring that officers are adequately trained and that systems of work are in place to protect them when doing so.

“Our thoughts remain with Graham’s family, colleagues and friends.”