A DISABLED man who lost his walking stick after it was caught in the doors of a departing train feared he could have been "dragged" away with it.

Mark Duthoit was horrified when the train he travels in to get to work from Swanley station closed its doors while he was half way through boarding.

The 36-year-old, of Squirrels Close, Swanley, was on his way to Bromley South and had only just managed to get his walking stick inside.

When the doors closed, his stick became trapped and was left hanging out the side of the carriage as the train pulled away.

Mr Duthoit, who was diagnosed with a balance disorder at birth, needs his walking stick to get around.

He said: "Fortunately, I managed to get my arm out of the way of the closing doors but I hate to think what could have happened.

"It could have been my arm in the door, a young child boarding or a baby in a pushchair.

"Luckily I didn’t have my hand through the stick’s wrist strap as I could have been dragged down the platform."

He added: "There was no attempt made by the train driver to check that these doors were clear of passengers - they were simply closed. "It was horrific. I am fully reliant on my walking stick."

Mr Duthoit was helped by a fellow passenger to Bromley South while the platform supervisor called ahead to the next stations, St Mary Cray and Bromley South.

The stick was recovered by station staff at St Mary Cray and taken to Bromley South, where a colleague of Mr Duthoit’s picked it up later in the day.

A Southeastern spokeswoman said: "We’ve made contact with Mr Duthoit to apologise and to assure him that we take this incident very seriously.

"We’re conducting a full investigation into what happened.

"We are genuinely sorry that Mr Duthoit had an unpleasant experience."

Mr Duthoit was awarded £20 worth of Marks and Spencer vouchers in compensation, and was bought a new stick, worth £67.