A signalman responsible for the safety of four railway level crossings went on a drinking session before his shift.

Rail worker Paul Clear, 57, faces jail after he "nodded off" in his signal box.

He turned up for work one Saturday while over twice the drink-drive limit - then allegedly fell asleep.

Clear, of North Lane, East Preston, Littlehampton, yesterday admitted at Worthing Magistrates Court a charge of working on a railway after consuming excess alcohol.

The court heard the signalman was responsible for monitoring the safety of four level crossings on the Brighton to Worthing line.

He was found slumped in the corner of the signal box at Lancing station by colleagues who immediately raised the alarm with Railtrack management.

A senior member of staff went to the box and, when quizzed, Clear denied drinking - then allegedly nodded off again.

Police were called and he was arrested when he failed a breath test. He was found to have 69microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Peter Lytle, prosecuting, told Worthing magistrates: "Mr Clear was a signalman on duty on September 16 last year.

"He was employed as a grade one crossing keeper. His duties were to ensure that trains had safe passage over four level crossings under his control.

"Brian Anderson was the line manager that day. He is Railtrack South signal manager and his duties are to respond to incidents requiring managerial presence.

"At 6.30pm, he was contacted by a railtrack signalman at Lancing. He said the crossing keeper had arrived unfit for duty.

"Mr Anderson went to the box and saw the defendant, Mr Clear, slumped in the corner of the signalbox.

""He asked if he was OK and Mr Clear said 'yes'. He asked, 'Have you been drinking?'. The answer was 'no'.

"He was concerned as Mr Clear was nodding off again.

"Subsequently, police attended. Mr Clear provided a sample and there was a reading of 69mg in his breath."

Kirsten Sharp, defending, said: "This is an unusual case in more ways than one. There are complications."

She asked for magistrates to adjourn the sentencing so that reports could be prepared.

Magistrates adjourned the case but warned Clear all their sentencing options remained open.

He faces a possible six-month jail sentence.

Clear's job involved monitoring security cameras covering the level crossings to make sure it was safe for trains to pass through.

He was fired by Railtrack as soon as his drinking was discovered.

A spokesman said: "He was summarily dismissed. That is standard policy if someone is found to have alcohol in their system.

"On this particular day the box he worked in had two other signallers in there who actually did the signalling.

"He came on shift and the two almost immediately realised something was amiss."