FOREIGN workers, who usually flock to pick fruit in Evesham farms, have been put off by a police investigation into the deaths of three fruit-pickers, locals have claimed.

The village of Charlton, near Evesham, is still coming to terms with last week's horrific crash, when a train ploughed through a minibus at a little-used farm crossing.

But while it is business as usual for many villagers, the steady flow of foreign fruit-pickers, who usually travel to White House Farm daily, has virtually dried up.

"I go running at the farm every day and it has been extremely quiet this week," said 20-year-old Esther Yarrow, who lives opposite the scene of the tragedy. "There are not even half the workers who normally turn up.

"I think the fact that the police have launched an inquiry into the incident has probably scared them away."

The fatal accident happened at around 8.15am on Monday, 7 July, when an InterCity train smashed into a minibus on a level-crossing at the farm.

Three passengers died instantly and have since been identified by their fingerprints as Satish Kumar, aged 28, of Smethwick, Islam Uddin, 46, also of Smethwick, and 23-year-old Satish Karim, whose address has yet to be established.

Three others remain in hospital, one with serious abdominal injuries and the other two with broken bones.

And with the rest apparently deciding to stay away, the village seems much quieter than usual.

"There are normally minibuses bringing workers from all over the place each day but it has been really quiet during the last week," said Graham Cookson, who also lives opposite the farm.

"About 90 per cent of the pickers are foreign, so when they are not being brought in the place does seem very quiet," agreed Hilary Dixon, the landlady of the Gardeners Arms pub, in Charlton.

And, though mystery still surrounds the reason the farm workers were heading to a field with no fruit in it, local people believe they must have been taking a short cut between fields.

"If that's the case, it must be terrible for that to have happened just to save a bit of time," said Mrs Dixon.

"Unfortunately, we may never know the truth."

An inquest into the three men's deaths will be held at the County Coroner's Court in Stourport-on-Severn on Wednesday.