Transport for London are in hot water after mistaking a man’s body for a fox.
The tragedy unfolded on December 28 last year, when a Piccadilly Line train stopped automatically at 11.27am after a rear trip switch was activated.
A manager went to investigate the incident in the tunnel between Holborn and Russell Square, and reported that a fox carcass was the cause of the alarm.
Deciding the ‘animal’ required no urgent attention, trains continued to operate, running over the man’s remains around 300 times.
Police weren’t called until 1.42am the following day.
The delay meant that by the time officers arrived they had difficulty identifying the man’s body; The Sun reports that they had only fingerprints and a severed foot still in a shoe to work with.
When CCTV footage from Holborn station was checked, a man could be seen entering the tunnel.
A British Transport Police spokesman said: “We were called at 1.42am on December 29 to reports that a body had been found in the tunnel between Holborn and Russell Square stations.
A 47-year-old man from Maidstone was declared dead at the scene.
A TfL spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who was found in the tunnel between Holborn and Russell Square stations on 29 December 2017.
We are unable to comment further at this time pending the conclusion of the coroner’s inquest.