NEW British comedy Three And Out has landed in hot water with a train driver’s union over some of its content, due to its portrayal of deaths on London’s Underground.

The film, starring Mackenzie Crook, Colm Meaney and new Bond girl Gemma Arterton, follows the fortunes of a Tube driver who witnesses two accidental deaths under his train (on two separate occasions within the same month) only to be informed of the “three and out rule” – if a driver witnesses three fatalities in the same month, they’re shipped out with a huge payoff.

The driver in question (played by Crook) then attempts to stage the third accident so that he can retire to Scotland to pursue his writing ambitions.

But Keith Norman, of rail union Aslef, described the plot of the film as “insulting and foolish” and wrote on his weekly online column: “I really can’t find anything amusing about people so distressed that they are driven to suicide.

“And, having witnessed it myself, I know the life changing trauma that drivers can suffer when they have been involved in an incident like this. If the vehicle you’re travelling in has a callous, self-seeking half-wit at the wheel, you’re going to look for another form of transport.

“And the notion that train drivers are unmoved at finding a corpse under the wheels of their trains, and that their first thought is, ‘How can I gain from this?’ is insulting and foolish.”

As the controversy surrounding the film’s content gains momentum, however, the distributors Worldwide Bonus Entertainment, have issued a statement revealing that while they are aware of the “difficult – and at times heartfelt – issues that the film raises, alongside its more light-hearted moments”.

It adds: “The production team did not want to shy away from confronting these issues, or go to the other extreme and lose the comedy, but great care was taken to make sure that the more emotive elements of Three And Out were handled as sensitively as possible.”

The statement also notes that the film had been completed in “close cooperation” with London Underground Filming and that the script had also been sent to The Samaritans, who feature in a scene.

Three And Out is released in UK cinemas on April 25, 2008, and will be reviewed on its week of release. View photos of Gemma Arterton in Three And Out

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