Eurostar has apologised after thousands of passengers were stranded in broken-down trains overnight.

Chief executive Richard Brown said sorry to more than 2,000 travellers who spent the night in what he called "very unpleasant conditions."

Bitterly cold weather in France was blamed for the problems, which meant that when trains went into the tunnel the warmer temperatures caused them to malfunction.

A spokesman said: “Eurostar has cancelled all services today (Saturday) because of continuing severe weather conditions in northern France.

"We strongly recommend that travellers whose journeys are not essential change their tickets for travel on a later date or have their tickets refunded.”

Lorraine O’Grady, 52, from Surrey had been planning to go on a shopping trip when she arrived at the terminal this morning.

She said: “It just seems like there isn’t any organisation. The staff are doing their best but they seem just as in the dark as everyone else. I’ve been hearing some of the stories about people walking along the tunnel in the dark and then having to get on the car train. It sounds awful.”

Stranded passengers spent up to 14 hours on trains after becoming trapped. Many were left without heating, lighting and water and have been telling of a chaotic and poorly organised evacuation.

All those stuck have now been taken by coach to London St Pancras or Ashford International.

One passenger, who did not want to be named, said: “There was hardly any communication from the staff and when the power went out the air conditioning went off as well so it was really hot. They didn‘t have any food or drink for us and walking down the tunnel was like a death-trap.”

One of the trains was towed out of the tunnel and taken to St Pancras while passengers from another were evacuated onto a shuttle and transferred to a Eurostar train for St Pancras.

People on the third train were also evacuated and taken to the terminal in France.

The fourth and fifth trains were hauled by a diesel train to Folkestone.

Firefighters from across Kent were deployed to help shortly before 10pm on Friday night. At the incident's height 13 crews, including staff dedicated to dealing with the Channel Tunnel, worked alongside French firefighters, police and ambulance crews from both Kent and Calais to evacuate passengers.

The incident was scaled down to three fire appliances just after 6.30am on Saturday.

Websites, Twitter accounts and blogs were flooded with posts from irate passengers and worried loved ones who were unable to access information.

Max Niederhofer wrote on a technology forum: “The whole communication policy during the night was atrocious. There are no working phone lines.

There is nothing on the website. There are no text updates, no emails – nothing. I finally got through to a station manager at Ashford International at 2am who provided 20 seconds of straight talk.”

Meanwhile Colette Ballou, founder of Ballou PR in Paris which represents Facebook in France was stuck on the Eurostar 9059 train for over 15 hours without food or water.

She tweeted: “We are still here. Buses left empty without passengers, no longer have faith in train staff. One can see how mutinies happen.

“Baby has run out of diapers. How hard is it to get us these things? Another baby has run out of food, the mother is asking for help. Is this a 1st world country?”

One of the trains was towed out of the tunnel and taken to St Pancras while passengers from another were evacuated onto a shuttle and transferred to a Eurostar train for St Pancras.

People on the third train were also evacuated and taken to the terminal in France. The fourth and fifth trains were hauled by a diesel train to Folkestone. Many were left sitting in trains on the sidings waiting to continue their journeys.

Further chaos was added when police introduced Operation Stack turning vast stretches of the M20 into a lorry park.

Flash graphic: Click and hold on the Phase 2 lorry to see details

On the last weekend before Christmas motorists faced miles of tailbacks as they attempted to squeeze in last minute shopping. Coupled with the icy conditions police issued an urgent travel warning to drivers to avoid the Folkestone and Dover areas of the M20 - particularly junctions 11, 11A and 12.

Coastbound lorries are being held on the M20 between junction 8 (Leeds Castle) and junction 9 (Ashford).

Traffic not heading for the Channel Tunnel or the Port of Dover will be diverted along the A20 where there is already long delays.

“Many people have spent a long time in their cars and other vehicles on the motorway and the major routes around the port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel at Cheriton near Folkestone,'“ said Chief Superintendent Matthew Nix from Kent Police.

He continued: “We appreciate how difficult it is for them and a number of agencies, supported by Kent Police, are making health checks and providing hot drinks and snacks.

“However we would appeal to everyone to consider if their journey is really necessary. Because of the problems with the channel tunnel and the port of Calais it will take a considerable time to clear the backlog.”

Further chaos was added when police introduced Operation Stack this m

orning turning vast stretches of the M20 into a lorry park.

On the last weekend before Christmas motorists faced miles of tailbacks as they attempted to squeeze in some last minute Christmas shopping.

Coupled with the icy conditions police have issued an urgent travel warning to drivers to avoid the Folkestone and Dover areas of the M20 - particularly junctions 11, 11A and 12. Coastbound lorries are being held on the M20 between junction 8 (Leeds Castle) and junction 9 (Ashford).

Traffic not heading for the Channel Tunnel or the Port of Dover will be diverted along the A20 where there is already long delays.

Chief Inspector Nicola Faulconbridge from Kent Police said: "We would urge drivers to avoid the M20 in the Folkestone and Dover areas. Unless your journey is absolutely vital do not travel."