WITNESSES who saw the young man killed by a train following a police chase have spoken of their shock and horror.

The 20-year-old man, who has not yet been identified, was in a silver Mercedes CLK 230 with two men when officers tried to stop the car in Ordnance Road at around 5.30pm yesterday.

The trio fled but were forced to abandon the vehicle when they reached the Enfield Lock level crossing.

One climbed over the barrier but was hit by the northbound Stansted Express and pronounced dead at the scene.

The other two, aged 21 and 22, were arrested.

Fehran Saber, 19, who works in Station Wines, in Ordnance Road, saw the collision.

He said: "A silver Mercedes came down the road really fast and stopped just before the barrier, its bonnet touching it.

"One guy ran right into the station and another one looked behind him, then leapt over the barrier.

"I heard a big bang, like a gunshot, and then the guy was gone."

He added:"That impact, that noise - I'll never forget it. I feel quite traumatised. I can't even eat properly."

Mother-of-three Elizabeth Hazel, 32, from Park Road, was with her 11-year-old daughter Courtney when they witnessed the chase.

She said: "I saw everything. I was going to pick my older daughter up from school when I saw a Mercedes racing along the road. We almost got hit by it.

"It stopped just before the barrier and three men got out. One jumped over the rail and I heard a big smash. It was like nothing I've ever heard before in my life.

"My seven-year-old was on the other side of the track and he saw the body get hit. He and my daughter were petrified. It was horrible.

"Everyone was screaming and now my children can't sleep. All I can see is that body being hit."

Sinan Kavaz, 56, from Ordnance Road, saw the chase and heard the impact as he returned from a doctor's appointment.

He said: "I saw the Mercedes speeding down the road at around 130mph, then I heard the siren.

"There was a hump in the road and the car jumped up and then smashed into the tarmac, and bits fell off.

"I thought it would shoot straight through the barrier, but three or four cars were waiting already, so it just managed to stop in time on the right side.

"Three men jumped out and two got caught. The other one went over and then I heard a deep punching sound.

"I didn't know what it was at the time, but it was very unusual. It gives me a very strange feeling now."

Mr Kavaz said around six people had been killed on the track since he moved to the area 26 years ago.

"Sometimes they are drunk and wander on, sometimes they are suicides, sometimes they try to drive across.

"Around five or six times someone has broken the barrier by smashing through it. It's unbelievable.

"They need to put up a camera to fine people to stop them doing it."

Malcolm Burrowes, 67, has lived in Ferndale Road for 26 years and said the station was "one of the worst places in the world for people jumping the barriers".

"You don't have to stand here long to see the cops nicking someone," he added.

"I've never seen anything quite like this before, but there is always something going on.

"Back in 1978 they were thinking of putting in a flyover, but you would need to pull all the houses and business down to do that, so they didn't.

"Now it looks unlikely to happen with all the Government cuts."