An Ipswich man has been convicted after he escaped from police and abandoned a Land Rover on railway tracks, causing £47,000 worth of damages and delays.

Kieron Francis, of Henniker Road, Ipswich, was stopped in July last year by police who suspected he was driving a stolen car.

When he was asked to open the door of the car, Francis attempted to restart the engine and assaulted one of the officers.

Francis drove towards the railway crossing near Cheshunt railway station in Hertfordshire, crashing through a barrier onto the railway track and abandoning the car there.

An approaching train had to be halted, leading to more than eight hours of delays on the line.

No passengers were injured in the incident.

Francis was arrested two weeks later and charged with several offences.

Ahead of his trial, the 35-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, destroying and damaging property and assaulting a police officer.

During the trial, he pleaded guilty to two additional charges of doing an unlawful act on a railway line thereby endangering a person.

However, during the trial he maintained that he did not intend to endanger rail users when he drove along the railway line and abandoned the car on it.

The Crown Prosecution Service made the case that when Francis drove onto the train tracks he did so with the deliberate intention of endangering lives.

Francis was found guilty of doing an unlawful act on a railway with the intent to endanger a person and obstruction of a railway line with intent to endanger a person at St Albans Crown Court on Tuesday.

He was cleared of stealing a car.

Senior crown prosecutor Dean Price said: “Not only did Kieron Francis cause substantial damage to private property and £47,000 worth of delays to Network Rail, he also knowingly and deliberately put lives at risk through his dangerous actions.

“Francis refused to plead guilty to the more severe charges he faced, but the strength of the evidence we presented in court helped secure his conviction.

“We hope today’s verdict brings a sense of justice to the police officer this man assaulted, and to all the railway passengers affected by Francis’ actions.”

Francis is due to appear in court again in September for sentencing.