PASSENGERS travelling home to Kent from London late last night were held up for more than an hour after reports of a person on the line.

Eventually the train's battery gave up and the passengers on the 12.04am service to Medway were plunged into darkness as they waited for their train to start moving again.

A spokesman for South Eastern Trains said that although the person was spotted on the track in the Dartford area it had a knock-on effect on other services.

"There was a person who was on the track not, on the main line but on the track," she said. "We had to shut the track in the Dartford area and we couldn't allow trains to run."

The spokesperson added: "As well as the danger of being struck by a train there is one rail that carries 750 volts and that's a current that can injure you so, as a precautionary measure, we have to turn off the current on the track, which means that trains are then unable to move."

The spokesman said the company was extremely sorry that people were delayed especially at that time of night.