A DRUNK plasterer fell to his death hours before being decapitated by a train, an inquest heard.

Lyubomir Kovalskyi, 24, of Waverley Road, Walthamstow, climbed over fence not knowing there was an 22ft drop on to a railway line on the other side.

Illegal immigrant Mr Kovalskyi had shared two bottles of Cognac with his friends Viktor Katcan and Igor Osciak before visiting the Cock Tavern pub, in High Street, Walthamstow.

While in the pub, Mr Kovalskyi became aggressive and his friends had to apologise for his behaviour. Later as his friends were trying to get him home, he ran away from them and scaled the fence in Osborne Grove.

In a statement read out in court Mr Katcan said: “I did not know what was behind the fence and we returned to the High Street. I said I was fed up of a being a baby-sitter for him and that he will find his own way home.”

The area around the fence was particularly dark as two street lamps were not working at the time, the court heard.

Dr Ken Shorrock, Home Office forensic pathologist, said Mr Kovalskyi's injuries suggest he had fallen and hit his head on a railway ballast, before falling across the tracks.

Dr Shorrock said the drop was probably enough to kill him straightaway, but he would certainly have been dead by the time the 6.32am Barking to Gospel Oak train arrived.

Roy Fairbrass, the train driver, described seeing something white on the tracks.

He said: “I did not have time to react or see what the object was before it went under the train, it made a metallic noise.”

It was only when Mr Fairbrass passed the spot in another train later in the day that he noticed it was a human body.

Mr Kovalskyi's body was found in three incomplete parts and remains were found up to a mile away.

There were initial problems identifying Mr Kovalskiyi as the identification found on the body was fake.

Described as “hard-working” and “likeable”, Mr Kovalskyi would often behave erratically and aggressively when drunk, the court heard.

Det Sgt David Gritton, of British Transport Police, who led the investigation, said: “He was a very hard working, industrious individual who came to England to earn money to send back home.

“He wanted to return and marry his long-term girlfriend, that was his plan, he came here for a better life.”

A jury found the cause of the death on November 28 last year to be severe head injuries and returned an open verdict.