British Transport Police have said a trespasser has cost more than £100,000 in delays after train services had to be suspended.

Operators had to switch off power to the train lines surrounding Whitstable on Friday while police searched the area following reports of a woman walking in front of a train.

Services were suspended for around an hour – which caused a total of 20 hours’ worth of delay to all trains impacted by the incident.

A police drone and a helicopter were deployed to help with the search and the woman was eventually spotted lying beside the tracks.

She was safely removed and detained by officers.

It caused disruption to 17 trains, including those travelling between Faversham and Ramsgate, for 20 hours and 11 minutes costing Network Rail a huge bill.

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, British Transport Police (BTP) said: “The female in this case has been bailed pending further inquiries and a full case file to be built in regard to the offences.

“Due to the female's actions the power had to be turned off resulting in 1,211 minutes of delays to 17 trains costing a total of £102,130 to Network Rail.”