SERVICES on the Cotswold Railway Line ground to a halt early this morning causing severe delays after a train hit debris near the station at Littleton & Badsey at about 5.30am.

The train, which was travelling from Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington, struck some timbers and cables and suffered serious damage which meant it was unable to continue on its journey.

A spokesman for Network Rail, which has responsibility for that stretch of the track, said: “The incident, which happened on a single track section of the line, caused severe delays and disruption to rail network with nine trains in total affected by the incident.

“There were around half a dozen passengers on the train and thankfully no one was injured. Trains are currently running and they resumed to normal at around 11am this morning.

“We are taking this matter very seriously and are currently working with the police to investigate.

“We also urge anyone with any information to contact the British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40, quoting incident number 62 of 03/06/2010, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

More on this story soon.