Eurostar woes lead to family holiday 'nightmare'

A plumber from Blackpool said he and his family suffered a "nightmare start" to their holiday when their Eurostar service to Paris was cancelled at the last minute.

Nigel Hardman said they were on a 05:30 BST Avanti West Coast train from Blackpool to London Euston when they were told.

The 57-year-old said he and his family were about £700 out of pocket due to the additional hotel and travel costs associated with them taking a train to Brussels instead of Paris.

Eurostar passengers have faced several days of severe disruption after two people died on the railway track in France and then cables were stolen.

The cable theft near Lille, which French media said involved about 600m (660yd) of metal, caused trains to be rerouted, leading to extended journey times.

The high-speed rail operator later said the line had reopened following repairs.

Mr Hardman said: "When we got [to London St Pancras station], we were in the queue for an hour before we found out the other trains to Paris were all booked up, so it's just a nightmare start to our trip.

"Everyone's just standing around not knowing anything, which is irritating when you've got a train down to London at the crack of dawn."

Eurostar said impacted passengers could change their travel plans for free or request a full refund.

"We're very sorry for the impact this is having on our customers," the company said in a statement.

"Our teams are working closely with the French authorities and infrastructure teams to manage the situation and restore services safely."

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