A trespasser on the line at Folkestone caused delays on the railways on this morning.

Southeastern warned passengers it was possible trains could be cancelled at short notice due to the incident at 11am near Folkestone Central station.

The trespasser, a 25-year-old man, was taken away by British Transport Police (BTP) officers.

He jumped on to the tracks at Folkestone when officers boarded the train in response to an earlier incident at Dover Priory in which a man was reportedly making threats to staff at the station.

Services have since returned to normal after passengers suffered only minor delays.

Passengers had been warned that they might experience short notice cancellations but no trains were forced to be cancelled.

A spokesman for Southeastern said: “At 11:02am we received a report of a trespasser on the tracks near Folkestone Central station.

“The British Transport Police were quick to attend and escorted person to safety.

“There were no cancellations as a result of this incident but there were temporary delays of up to 10 minutes in the Folkestone Central area. Our service has now recovered.”

A BTP spokesman said: “We were called to Dover Priory station at 10.35am on Monday, 18 May, following a report of a man making threats to staff.

“Prior to our arrival, the suspect boarded a train. BTP officers met the train at Folkestone Central and a man ran onto the tracks.

“A 25-year-old man was removed from the tracks and taken to a place of safety for a mental health assessment.”