A talented rugby player was run over and killed by a tube train following a six-hour booze binge with his team-mates, an inquest heard.

Financial analyst James Huxtable, 24, fell on to the tracks at Stockwell underground station in south London after he and pals drowned their sorrows on a Friday night out after losing a match.

The train driver mistook him for litter on the track seconds before realising it was a man crouching motionless just after 5am on Saturday, March 17 this year, the inquest heard.

James Robert Huxtable died in March after being hit by a tube train (Picture: Central)

Tests showed James, who was enjoying life in London after being raised in Cornwall, was more than three times the drink-drive limit and he was killed immediately.




James’ father Keith Huxtable, his brother and uncle attended the hearing at Southwark Coroners Court.

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Assistant Coroner Henrietta Hill, reading from James’ father’s statement, said: ‘He went to university and got a first class degree.

‘He worked during his final year at his university. He was a competitive person, he wanted to do the best. He had a large group of friends and was well respected.’

British Transport Police investigator Roger Andrews said James was captured entering the station shortly before 5am.

Mr Andrews said James was seen ‘staggering’ between platforms one and two. But at 5.09am he went past the restricted area at the edge of platform one.

James Huxtable died after falling onto the tracks at Southwark tube station (Picture: Google)

Mr Andrews said: ‘He walks to the tunnel area he’s pushed past the safety barrier as the train was coming into the platform, he looked like he was relieving himself, well possibly showing signs of vomiting or feeling unwell.

‘At 5.14am he appeared disorientated at the time he fell. He stays there in the what appears to be a dazed state and rubbing his head.’

Mr Andrews said James was on the tracks for just over two minutes and appeared to have hurt his head.

The driver of the train said: ‘I was about 60m from the platform when I saw something at the centre of the tracks.

‘It thought it was a paper bag or debris on the track. As I got closer I realised it was a white male crouched on his forefoot with his head down.’

The driver pulled the emergency brake, but was too late to avoid James saying it was 10 seconds from seeing him first to the train stopping.

They added: ‘I thought the incident was deliberate – to have his arms up as if he were, as he didn’t move.’

James Huxtable’s inquest was held at Southwark Coroners Court (Picture: PA)

James’s rugby team-mates at Belsize Park Club said they having pizza and beers at 11pm and went out drinking after losing a match in Acton, west London.

Mark Liebling said James and other team-mates drank at a rugby clubhouse and went to a number of pubs and tried to get into the Electric club in Brixton before they drank at The Swan pub in the Clapham area until 4.59am.

Bath University friend and teammate Andrew Dyke said: ‘He was a really good mate, and was a happy go lucky guy.’

Born in Truro, James lived in Southwark, south London, and worked as an analyst within the Analytics Constulancy Practice in Accenture Management Consulting.



Assistant Coroner Henrietta Hill said: ‘His family statement from his father Mr Huxtable confims he had a good job, was enjoying his life, had plenty of friends and had no issues from girlfriends or anything financial.

‘There’s no basis what soever for thinking this was a suicidal act. It seems overwhlemingly clear to me that James was very drunk, the means by which he came to be on the train tracks were an accident.’

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