We've heard of icy rails, leaves on the line and even bright sunshine causing delays for commuters.

But this must be the first time a BEER BARREL has been the culprit.

Passengers faced disruption on the Canterbury East line due to an "obstruction" on the tracks, which was later revealed as the unusual item.

Southeastern tweeted: "The reason for the disruption in the #CanterburyEast area this morning was because of a train hitting a beer barrel."

The incident sparked delays on the line between Dover and London, but services have now returned to normal.

A Southeastern spokesman said: "At around 5.30am this morning, a train struck an object on the track in the Canterbury area whilst travelling between Faversham and Dover Priory.

"The train came to a stand whilst engineers worked to remove the obstruction, which we now know was a beer barrel, as quickly as possible.

"We are investigating how the barrel got there, but we're pleased to confirm that no beer was unnecessarily harmed in the incident and the line was re-opened at around 7am.

"Some services were disrupted by the incident and we encourage any passengers who were delayed by 30 minutes or more to claim compensation online via website or by completing a Delay Repay form at the station."

In January, commuters faced delays due to the "wrong kind of sunshine" preventing the rail firm from dispatching trains.