Trespasser causes major rail delays for racegoers

Thousands of Cheltenham Festival racegoers faced delays to trains on the first day of the event because of a trespasser on the line in Gloucestershire.

Services through Gloucester were cancelled or delayed for most of the day after a man was detained in the area.

All lines have since reopened and services have returned to normal.

British Transport Police said officers were called at about 09:30 GMT and that the trespasser was being assessed by paramedics.

Many services were affected, including between Gloucester and Birmingham, Cardiff and Nottingham, Bristol and Worcester, and London Paddington and Cheltenham Spa.

The disruption also affected services from Cardiff to Cheltenham Spa, and between Weymouth, Warminster, Westbury and Gloucester.

Great Western Rail (GWR), said: "Following trespassers on the railway earlier today at Gloucester all lines are now open."

Cheltenham Festival is running from 10 to 13 March this year.

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