'Boys behind Waterloo chaos'

These are the youths police believe are responsible for causing chaos at Waterloo station by activating fire alarms.

The false alarms led to evacuations of the entire station - badly disrupting services at one of London's busiest commuter hubs.

British Transport Police today released CCTV images of those they believe are responsible for triggering the alarms on three different days, which led to the station, including the main Eurostar terminal, being evacuated twice.

The alarms were set off last Wednesday at about 5pm, on Thursday at 3.30pm and on Sunday at 4pm. On Thursday and Sunday the station was cleared for at least 10 minutes while firefighters and police checked the area.

As a result trains were delayed, with no services allowed in or out of the station, and businesses such as bars and café³ all had to close. It is believed rail companies lose between ?15,000 and ?20,000 if a mainline London station is closed for 15 minutes. The bogus alarm also engaged fire crews that could have been needed elsewhere for a real emergency - potentially putting lives at risk.

Sergeant Ian Thomas of British Transport Police says he believes it is the same group responsible for each action. CCTV shows a group of teenagers, two of whom appear together on more than one day. Both appear to be white, clean shaven with dark hair and dark jackets. It is possible the teenagers could be from overseas.

The footage shows three teenagers travelling up one of the escalators in the station on Wednesday 9 March. Four are pictured on Thursday 10 March and two are seen together last Sunday.

When the alarms were triggered on Sunday, they were activated in three different locations within minutes of each other, leading police to believe it was a co-ordinated event. On other occasions alarms have been triggered singly, but never the same alarm.

Mr Thomas is hoping that the CCTV stills will help to identify the culprits. He said: "We will be pursuing them with a view to prosecution under public nuisance. We are seeking to make an example of anyone caught."

Anyone with any information should phone police on 020 7391 5275.