Three railway workers were lucky to escape with burns after they suffered shocks from a 22,000-volt overhead power cable.

The men were working on the East Coast Main Line just off the A19 at Tollerton when a crane on top of their van hit the cable.

Ambulances took two of the men to York District Hospital for treatment to their burns. A spokesman for the Tees East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service said: "One 48-year-old man suffered electrical burns from his fingers to his toes." He was detained in hospital overnight.

A spokesman for the British Transport Police said the other two men suffered superficial burns and one did not need hospital treatment. The other man was released from hospital later.

The men, who are employed by Jarvis Rail, were carrying out routine work on the line for Railtrack when the incident happened, on Wednesday afternoon.

An investigation into the incident is being carried out by Railtrack.

Updated: 12:54 Friday, May 04, 2001