A man who died after standing in front of a train at the notorious Ufton Nervet level crossing was struggling to cope with caring for his elderly mother, an inquest heard.

Gary Provins was convinced he would have to sell the family home in order to pay for his mother's nursing home costs.

A pile of belongings was found next to the railway track after the emergency services were called when a train driver stopped the 18.50 service from London Paddington to Froome when he though he had struck a shadowy object on the line.

The inquest at Reading Coroners Court on Tuesday comes just weeks after plans for a bridge over the railway track were approved to stop people driving or walking onto the tracks that currently have half barriers at the level crossing.

Since 2004 eleven people, including Mr Provins, have lost their lives at the Ufton Nervet crossing, and campaigners have called for a safer alternative for more than 10 years.

Six people lost their lives when a train hit a car which had been deliberately parked on the level crossing on November 6, 2004. The driver of the car also died.

Recently West Berkshire Council approved plans for a new £8 million pedestrian bridge, to replace the crossing which is expected to be completed by the end of next year.

Mr Provins, of Haywood Way, Reading, was convinced that he would be forced to sell the family home in order to pay for his mother's nursing home costs, Berkshire coroner Peter Bedford heard.

The 60-year-old had lived alone with his 93-year-old mother in the home he grew up in and became his mother's sole carer.

In the early evening of Thursday 16 October last year, Mr Provins was seen crouching between the rails at Ufton Nervet shortly before being hit by a train.

Emergency services found a mobile phone, car keys, a train timetable and a half drunken bottle of water were found laid out by the line and his car was near the crossing.

A toxicology report revealed that Mr Provins had not been drinking at all before his death.

Mr Bedford said that it was a combination of Mr Provins private nature and his concern over losing his family home which led to his death.

He said: "Mr Provins was a reserved, private person who kept personal matters to himself. He was not the type of man to seek help from others.

"In the five weeks before his death, friends had noticed a change in his behaviour as he had become withdrawn. His pressures in life was caring for his elderly mother and I think there was an issue with nursing home for longer term care.

"The one common thread that comes through all this, is Mum and the house and the repercussions of Mum."

Mr Bedford recorded a verdict of: "He took his own life as a result of personal and social stresses in his life."

His mother Kathleen Provins is now being cared for in a nursing home.