An autistic man reported as missing on Christmas Eve was not considered "high risk" by police, an inquest has found. 

Rodney Larsh, 20, of Forest Haven care home in Hawksmouth, Chingford, went missing from his sister's home in Barking shortly after 10am on December 24. 

He was killed by a train travelling at 60mph while walking on the tracks at Shenfield station at around 5.20pm on the same day. 

It is believed Mr Larsh was trying to make his way back to Chingford, as CCTV footage  showed him becoming "nervous, anxious and agitated" when he is thought to have realised he had boarded the wrong train from Liverpool Street.  

Police first discovered Mr Larsh was missing at around 10.20am when they received a 999 call from his sister, Jessica Larsh. 

She told police he was at high risk because he couldn’t communicate verbally, but police categorised him as 'medium risk'. 

Despite the manager of his care home passing on details of his travel pass to police at around 3.30pm, it was not mentioned in the case log until 10.30pm, by which time Mr Larsh had died.  

Training has since been given to officers on missing person procedures. 

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Coroner Eleanor McGann said: "These transport cards do trace people so it would have been a good idea if enquiries were made immediately. 

Speaking outside the court, Mr Larsh's sister Rosemary Nkestiah said: "If the police had acted more swiftly, his death could have been prevented."

For more on this story, see this week's Guardian - out Thursday