A Southern Railway driver has told Sky News that staff fear "we will kill someone" if they are forced to accept driver-only trains on which they control the doors.

The driver spoke anonymously to Sky News as a first day of talks between the ASLEF union and the train operator ended without a deal. The two sides will return to the table on Thursday.

"It's about people's lives. We don't want your death, your maiming, on our conscience," the driver said, defending the walkouts.

"We don't want to have to live with that. We don't want to have to go to jail for it, because that's also what we are facing.

"It is not about money. We've not asked for money. It's not about us wanting a few days off work. We're there because we feel the company is not listening."


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Image: This picture of a train cab monitor highlights the lack of visibility in rainy conditions

Beleaguered Southern passengers have faced months of misery, with disrupted services and last-minute alterations due to staff shortages and other issues.

They will also have to face further strikes from Friday unless the union and Southern reach an agreement.

The driver said he wanted passengers to understand why union members were striking over the rolling out of driver-only trains.

"We're doing it for you," he said. "We're doing it for safety."

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He said drivers rely on monitors to see different views of the train and platform, but that these are sometimes "not fit for purpose" or "obscured", and can not cover every angle - especially for larger trains which can reach the length of "a football field".

With the equipment available, he said, it is impossible for the driver to see if a passenger has "got a finger out the door" or "a bag sticking out".

Conductors, on the other hand, can "step away from the train ... they will have a much wider vision.

"They can also hear. Our cameras don't have sound. They don't hear people running for the train shouting 'hold the door'. They don't see people coming down off the steps or running down the ramp.

"They show a very limited viewpoint. A conductor can see all of this."

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He also spoke about the risks train drivers face, saying most who had worked for any length of time would have experienced a person jumping in front of them on the tracks.

"We go to work every day with that risk, of someone wilfully choosing to end their own life in front of us. And we have to live with that.

"What we're talking here is things that can be avoided. Accidents. People falling, slipping, tripping."

When asked if he believed Southern Railway was wilfully putting passengers' lives at risk, he said: "I believe they are."