Rail users stranded as police hunt gunman

Thousands of commuters suffered delays after a gunman brought intercity services in and out of north London to a standstill for several hours.

Train companies worked through the night to get West Coast mainline services back to normal but warned of possible delays today.

There were chaotic scenes at Euston last night where Virgin and London Midland passengers were left stranded for up to four hours as armed officers searched for the gunman.

Hundreds more passengers were stuck on trains into and out of London, including delegates from the Labour conference in Manchester, after services were suspended between London and Rugby at 7.30 last night.

The drama began when a man brandishing a gun fired at a lorry in Rugby at 6.30pm. Armed officers and dog handlers began searching the area and the nearby railway line was shut by Network Rail.

The man was later reported to have started firing at the police helicopter. Despite an extensive search he was not found and the railway was reopened at around 11pm.

A Warwickshire Police spokesman said: "Officers believe the weapon fired heavy duty ball-bearings at the lorry which have the potential to cause serious or fatal injury."

Network Rail said they did not lay on coaches because the disruption was unlikely to last long enough.