Welsh Secretary Peter Hain has criticised a train company's decision to cut services after the Wales v England Six Nations game in Cardiff.

Wales and Borders Trains has cancelled train services towards London and other parts of England on 22 February, which could cause problems for an estimated 28,000 fans travelling from the Millennium Stadium clash.

Fans face difficulties leaving the game

The company has blamed the 1730 GMT kick-off time for the problems.

It said it had an independent assessment carried out, which warned that the late finish of the game would pose serious safety risks to travelling supporters.

Wales and Borders said that fans queuing late into the night could lead to crush problems at stations.

But Mr Hain said: "It's very bad for the image of Wales that we cannot provide a decent train service to get England supporters home safely after the game."

He added that he would seek a meeting with Wales and Borders bosses over the issue.

Peter Hain has criticised the company's decision

The company said it was unable to move fans safely out of Cardiff unless the kick-off time is significantly earlier.

Wales and Borders has cancelled train services east of Newport and is instead running shuttle services to Newport where fans can continue their journey by road.

The company plans to run a normal service west from Cardiff and to the valleys.

Managing Director of Wales and Borders Trains, Chris Gibb, said: "We will not compromise the safety of the travelling fans.

'Risks'

"This means we have to limit the number of trains we run so we can control the risks.

"We have been handling large crowds for a long time and have a safe and efficient system in place.

"The bottom line is that if the kick-off time were earlier, we would not have to alter services."

It's very bad for the image of Wales Peter Hain

A spokeswoman for the English RFU said she had not seen the plans from Wales and Borders, but they would be reflected on, and English supporters would be advised on their travel plans as appropriate.

In a statement, the BBC, which plans to broadcast the game, said: "We are surprised by the decision as there was no reason for us to believe that the kick off time would cause any problems.

"There has been lots of time for arrangements to be made and evening kick-offs are not unusual at the Millennium Stadium and objections have never been raised before."