Read our review of Three And Out

Train drivers will stage a protest tonight at the premiere of a British comedy about suicides on the London Underground.

Members of Aslef will hand out leaflets when Three And Out, starring Mackenzie Crook, is shown at Leicester Square, London, this evening.

Crook plays a tube driver in search of a volunteer to commit suicide under his train so he can get compensation. Union members have criticised the subject material, saying that deaths on the railway are "never funny".

Keith Norman, general secretary of Aslef, said: “I can’t find anything amusing about people so distressed that they are driven to suicide.

“I don’t want Aslef to look like some sort of kill-joy organisation, because we’re not, but there are issues which we shouldn’t ignore - and this is one of them. I want the public to be aware of how distressing it can be for a driver to discover a body under the wheels of his or her train.

“Last year 249 bodies ended up under trains. Of these, 194 were classified by the Rail Safety and Standards Board as suicides or suspected suicides.

“Behind each of these is undeniably a terrible and tragic story of loneliness and despair. The union’s specific concern is a secondary victim - and that is the driver.”

But Crook, best known for playing the character of Gareth in The Office, denied the new comedy about deaths on the London Underground was insensitive.

"When I read the premise I thought this might be a touchy subject," he said. "But it soon became obvious that wasn't what the film is about."

Crook, who said he was "very proud" of the British-made movie, said he was "disappointed" people had been "jumping to conclusions".

"They're imagining we've made a very distasteful, bad-taste film, which we haven't," he said. "Hopefully those people who have objected will go and see it and realise they have got the wrong end of the stick."

Volunteers will tonight hand out leaflets reading: “We hope you enjoy the movie tonight, but please remember that for train drivers like ourselves, deaths on the railway are never funny.”

The film’s producers, Worldwide Bonus Entertainment, said: “Filming was carried out in close cooperation with London Underground to ensure that drivers and others who could identify with elements of Three And Out were considered throughout the production process."

The Samaritans, who appear in the film, said that it contravened its media guidelines.

A spokeswoman said: “We are worried it might add to the distress of people affected by suicides, including railway staff.”

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