Police said to be negotiating with a man on tracks at a railway tunnel in Folkestone last night, have called off their search after failing to find him.

British Transport Police (BTP) were called out just before 8pm to Stuart Road around the area of the former East station close to The Warren tunnel after a man was reported to have been seen near the tracks at the station.

Social media reports said there was a large number of police near the railway line. The police helicopter was also seen searching overhead.

Kent Police were called to help in the search for the man and deployed the area's helicopter.

A BTP spokesman said: "Officers were called to the line near to Folkestone Central station at 8pm on Tuesday, May 20, following reports of a man on the tracks.

"The line was closed whilst officers from BTP and colleagues from Kent Police searched for the man.

"Despite an extensive search, which continued into the early hours of Wednesday, the man was not located."

Passengers were delayed while police attended the scene as Network Rail had to shut off power to the lines to allow officers to head onto the tracks.

A Southeastern spokesman said: "We stopped services at around 8.30pm because of reports of a person on the line. We were reliant on Network Rail to shut off power that effectively meant we couldn't run any services and arranged replacement bus services.

"One train was stuck outside Dover with 10 passengers on board and was turned around."

In a separate incident this morning passengers are currently experiencing delays in the Ashford area because of an electrical problem.

The spokesman added: "We've had a separate issue with electrical supply at Ashford meaning some of our high speed trains can't get out of the depot.

"We've cancelled 15 to 20 services and delays are in the region of 15 minutes."