Miracle survival of child, 3, hit by 70mph train as suicidal father kills himself by running in front of it while carrying her because wife had found another man

• Richard Straw, 28, died when he was hit by the train but his daughter Scarlett, three, was thrown clear
• Inquest hears he split with girl’s mother Samantha Roberts after he found she was in new relationship with his friend
• Graffiti on walls of their house read: 'You always wanted me dead' and 'mummy I love you, goodbye'
• The train driver said Mr Straw was running as if 'he was running from some starting blocks' and as he saw the train he seemed to speed up

Recovery: Scarlett, pictured with her mother Samantha Roberts, survived after her father Richard Straw jumped in front of a train with her in his arms

A father who jumped in front of a train with his three-year-old daughter in his arms was devastated after discovering his partner had cheated on him with his best friend, an inquest heard yesterday.
Richard Straw, 28, was holding Scarlett as he leapt into the path of an express train.
He was killed instantly, but Scarlett was found on the trackside with terrible injuries.
She is now four and has made a full recovery.
The inquest was told that Mr Straw had discovered Scarlett’s mother Samantha Roberts, 27, had been seeing his best friend, Lee Bacon, behind his back.
A week before he died, Mr Straw had been arrested on suspicion of setting fire to Mr Bacon’s home.
He was distraught at the idea of anyone else ‘being Scarlett’s dad’, the inquest in Doncaster was told.
The couple, who had been together for five years, had split up a month before Mr Straw’s death in July last year, with Miss Roberts leaving the family home.
She had been seeing Mr Bacon since the April, when her relationship with Mr Straw, a warehouseman, was falling apart.
The inquest heard they had rowed over his gambling and drinking.  Miss Roberts told the hearing Mr Straw had ‘found out properly’ about her relationship with Mr Bacon, 30, the day before he killed himself.
He had acted aggressively, she said, but had calmed down by the next morning, when he arrived unannounced to take Scarlett for lunch and a trip to the park.
‘He seemed happy,’ she said. ‘He said to Scarlett to say goodbye to mummy and tell her you love her.’
But she grew worried when they failed to return, and went to Mr Straw’s house, where she found abusive graffiti scrawled on the walls.
One message read ‘you always wanted me dead’ and another said: ‘Mummy I love you goodbye.

Miracle: Scarlett Straw, pictured after treatment on her left leg, was found barely alive on the trackside after the train hit her, but she has gone on to make a full recovery

A third, referring to Scarlett, said: ‘Get your own family, she’s mine.’
Miss Roberts then received a phone call from the police to tell her about the train incident.

The inquest was told father-of-two Mr Straw died from multiple injuries when he was hit by the Leeds-bound express train on the East Coast main line near Doncaster at around 12.30pm.
Driver David Dobson said he saw a man run from undergrowth at the side of the track as he neared a crossing.
‘He looked straight at me and seemed to speed up. I could see he was carrying a girl.

Injuries: Scarlett's cheekbone was fractured, one arm was broken and one leg was smashed by the blow, which also left her with a huge wound on the back of her head. But she survived after 45 days in hospital

‘She was being carried on his left hip and had her arms around his neck and her head on his left shoulder.
It was apparent he intended to jump straight in front of the train.’

Recording a suicide verdict, coroner Nicola Mundy said: ‘It’s clear from the notes he left he simply couldn’t accept the break-up of the relationship.
'This was a very deliberate act.’

At the scene: In a further chilling twist, it emerged Mr Straw had scrawled abusive graffiti over the walls of his former family home, including the words, 'good bye Sammy, good bye mummy'

Determined: The train driver said Mr Straw was running as if 'he was running from some starting blocks' and as he saw the train he seemed to speed up