Man behind London tube's 'Mind the Gap' warning dies

Sayer, is one of several people to have voiced the famous warnings since they were first introduced in the 1960s

LONDON:

A former radio presenter, known to millions of London commuters and tourists from around the world as the voice of the "Mind the gap" announcements on the British capital's underground system, has died, his family said on Friday.



Phil Sayer, 62, recorded the automated warnings which are played across much of the London "tube" network to alert passengers to take care when stepping from platforms onto the trains.

"Phil Sayer - voice of reason, radio, and railways," his wife Elinor Hamilton wrote on his Facebook page. "We are sorry to announce that this service terminates here."

Sayer, who worked as a presenter for BBC radio in Manchester in the 1980s and also read regional television bulletins, is one of several people to have voiced the famous, sonorous warnings since they were first introduced in the late 1960s.



In 2013, media reported that Transport for London had restored the recording by actor Oswald Laurence at Embankment station after learning his widow used to go there so she could hear his voice.