KEVIN Williams was 22 years old when he saw the train come hurtling down the hill towards his house in Glenn Avenue.
He and his father, Alfred, were hailed as heroes after they were the first people to rush to the scene and begin rescuing trapped passengers.
"My father was at the front of the house and I was by the side when we saw the train rolling down the hill," he said.
"We ran to the train and broke our way into it, walking down the carriages to pull people out.
"There was so much dust and debris and the sound of metal slicing through trees."
The younger Mr Williams had no emergency or medical training although his father had rudimentary Red Cross training through his job as a lorry driver.
He said: "My mind was in shock; disbelief, slow and numb. The train kept on moving like a pendulum, there was nothing to stop it carrying on further down the hill, killing rescuers as well as survivors."
Mr Williams said he rescued up to 16 people, including several with serious injuries who had been in the same carriages as the five who died in the accident.
"We had to check the toilets to make sure people weren't stuck in there. Your imagination just ran away with you."
The rescuer said he was proud of his dad, who died a few years ago. He said: "He was so stoic and strong. He stayed calm and took the lead when it happened. We were all petrified – a train had turned up in our back gardens."
