A 25-year-old Iraqi who killed three migrant workers when he drove a minibus into the path of a 90mph express train at an unmanned level crossing near the village of Charlton has been jailed for five years.

Asylum seeker Adnan Kadir Karim was an unqualified, unlicensed and uninsured driver and he could not read English road signs.

The Honourable Mr Justice Mitting told him it must have been "absolutely obvious" he was approaching the level crossing last July.

He said Karim had driven badly on his way to Whitehouse Farm near Pools Crossing and he was familiar with the area after previous visits.

"You had ample time to stop, you did not and, as a result, three men lost their lives," he added at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

The Judge said Karim then embarked on a string of lies as he maintained he had not been behind the wheel of the minibus when it was hit by the London-bound train.

"You kept up this pretence until two weeks or so before your trial," said the Judge. "All this means I have to pass a prison sentence and the shortest time I can impose is five years."

Karim of Carpenters Road, Handsworth, Birmingham denied the manslaughter of 25-year-old Iraqi Soran Karim, Satish Kumar, 28 from India and 46-year-old Islam Uddin Ahmed from Bangladesh.

But the eight woman - four man jury after retiring for four hours to consider the evidence at the end of the six-day trial returned unanimous guilty verdicts on all three charges.

The Judge said Karim had been convicted on three very serious charges of manslaughter and he had to be punished because of the aggravating features of the case.

Afterwards Det Chief Inspector David Lester of the British Transport Police admitted he was delighted with the outcome of the trial.

"This case illustrates the great care that must always be taken by members of the public when they are using a level crossing," said the officer.

"The jury decided Karim was grossly negligent. This was a terrible accident but there were contributory factors.

"He was responsible for these three deaths and, if he had taken the necessary steps and care on this crossing, these men would still be alive."

Mr Christopher Millington QC prosecuting told the court Karim had paid no regard to safety measures on the crossing as he took the migrant workers to pick onions.

"There was a catastrophic collision when the train hit the packed minibus and the vehicle was virtually destroyed.

"The consequences for the passengers were terrible," he added. "It was a gruesome spectacle as the injured were ferried to hospital and the dead were left by the side of the track."

"This man was totally unfit and unqualified to drive his passengers safely to work and three of them paid the price for his recklessness," said Mr Millington.

He told the court forensic evidence proved conclusively Karim was the driver of the minibus and was only months after the tragedy he admitted to police he was taking the men - recruited by gangmasters in Birmingham - to the farm.

Karim in evidence told the jury he had not heard or seen the Hereford to London train approaching as he drove through crossing gates he maintained were open.

"I carried on and, in the blink of an eye, the accident happened, " he said.

"After that it was a very bad situation. There was flesh and blood everywhere. I saw people running out of the fields to help us."

Karim - one of the injured - said he had told lies to the police because if he had been in Iraq and behind a major accident he would have been executed.

Miss Rachel Brand QC defending Karim who held his head in his hands as the jury returned their guilty verdicts said he was inexperienced driving on the roads of this country.

But she stressed he had not set out to be a "hazard on the roads," he was remorseful and the tragedy had been a "dreadful experience."

The Judge disqualified Karim from driving for two years and said he'd leave the question of him being returned to Iraq to the Home Office.