SUFFOLK lorry driver Mike Read is to be charged with dangerous driving after being involved in a collision with a train which left eleven people injured.

SUFFOLK lorry driver Mike Read is to be charged with dangerous driving after being involved in a collision with a train which left eleven people injured.

The 41-year-old will be told to appear at East Suffolk Magistrates Court where he will be accused of causing the crash at the Blaxhall crossing on April 15.

Read, of The Street, Hatcheston, is to receive a summons from the British Transport Police requiring him to appear before magistrates in Ipswich.

The charge of dangerous driving will be formally laid against him at the hearing, which is likely to be held next month.

If found guilty of dangerous driving Read, who works for Kerr Farm, could face up to two years in jail and an unlimited fine.

BTP officers from Ipswich investigated the crash and submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for it to consider what charge he would have to answer in court.

"I can confirm that following a lengthy investigation by the British Transport Police in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive a file was submitted to the Criminial Prosecution Service and a decision has been taken that the lorry driver concerned will be summonsed for dangerous driving," said Sergeant Bob Munn of the BTP.

"He will appear at South East Suffolk Magistrates Court in due course."

It is believed compensation claims by those companies and individuals affected by the crash are already bordering on a seven figure sum and are likely to rise still further.

At the time of the incident Read had been heading away from Blaxhall Hall Farm with a load of crop insulation fleece when his lorry was in collision with the train which was travelling from Lowestoft to Ipswich at about 10.10am.

The trailer of his vehicle was left a crumpled mess by the impact and the rolls of fleece were strewn around the level crossing where the crash occurred.

One set of the train's wheels left the track but the carriage remained upright and as a result injuries among the 56 passengers on board were kept to a minimum.

Eight passengers were taken to Ipswich Hospital. Another three including the train driver and conductor were taken to James Paget Hospital at Gorleston. None of the injuries were life threatening.