KENT commuters faced delays and diversions this afternoon after a railway signal failure.

Lightning and heavy rain are believed to have caused signal problems, though a Network Rail investigation is continuing.

The problem was reported at 11.45am and led to the closure of the railway at Otford.

It affected services between London Victoria and Ashford via Maidstone East and West Malling and between London Blackfriars and Sevenoaks.

Maidstone services were diverted via Tonbridge, while the Sevenoaks trains were re-routed to Orpington.

Most services returned to normal by 1.30pm, though diversions were expected to be in place on the Sevenoaks line until at least 4pm.

Spokesman Nigel Jarrett said: "Southeastern apologise for any delays caused to passengers as a result of the exceptionally heavy rain. Every effort was made to keep any disruption to a minimum."

Network Rail said it was the worst incident in Kent on a day when train services in other counties were crippled by extreme downpours and flooding.

Meanwhile, the ticket office at Tonbridge railway station closed at 2.40pm because of flooding and was not expected to reopen on Friday.

Four platforms at London Victoria were also closed by flooding.