A NEW bid is being made to identify a man who died at Erith railway station 12 years ago.

The man, who was struck by a train at the station in December 1998, is one of 20 railway deaths which form part of a British Transport Police (BTP) cold case review.

In the first exercise of its kind, BTP is reviewing a series of fatalities which date as far back as 25 years.

The man who was killed at Erith was white and aged somewhere between 40 and 50.

He had black hair, false teeth and was about 5ft 6ins tall.

At the time, he was described as looking “dishevelled” wearing only a blue shirt, grey trousers and one black shoe.

Police initially believed he had walked down the ramp at the end of one of the platforms and was electrocuted.

He died around 5.45am on December 15 and was certified dead at the scene.

Despite pleas in the media for anyone who recognised him to come forward, he has never been identified.

Images of the 20 dead people, two of them women, which were drawn by artists, have been released by BTP working with the National Policing Improvement Agency.

None of their deaths was suspicious.

Detective Chief Superintendent Miles Flood from BTP said: “All these fatalities were fully investigated at the time and all clues followed up, to try and establish an identity, but without success.”

He explained: “We are now taking another look to see if there is any more we can do, in some cases to see if advances in forensic techniques can help, and to appeal to the public to see if anyone recognises them.”

Mr Flood added: “Some of these people may have had an itinerant lifestyle.

“But it is likely there are still relatives or friends who may recognise them and thought they had simply moved away.”

Anyone with information about the man found dead in Erith can call BTP on 0121 634 5613, quoting reference number 13.