Newcastle United fans hit by East Coast Main Line disruption

Newcastle United fans due to make their way to London for the club's match against Tottenham were hit by severe disruption on the East Coast Main Line.

Rail companies LNER and Lumo advised people not to travel after overhead lines were damaged between Peterborough and Grantham on Saturday.

However, one passenger said people were given no warning at Newcastle.

He described being among "hundreds" of people stranded at Grantham when their service terminated.

LNER has been advising people to check its website and social media for updates.

A number of services were cancelled with none running beyond Grantham.

It said customers would be able to use their tickets for travel on Monday or Tuesday.

LNER managing director David Horne said teams from Network Rail, which is responsible for track infrastructure, were working on repairs.

He said disruption was expected to continue through the rest of Sunday.

Network Rail has been approached for comment.

Brian Ging was among passengers travelling to London. He boarded an LNER train at Newcastle at 11:30 GMT and said people had been given no warning about the disruption until after their journey was under way.

He told the BBC there was "nobody from LNER, Network Rail or anyone else directing the crowds" at Grantham, in Lincolnshire, when they got off.

People had been "left totally to fend for ourselves", he added, as they waited at the station for more than two hours.

"We imagined there would be lots of buses and taxis waiting [to take people the rest of the way], but there wasn't and there are lots of people."

An LNER spokesperson said: "Severe damage to the overhead lines between Peterborough and Grantham led to disruption on the rail network last night with customers advised not to travel yesterday evening or today.

"This message was publicised on our website and social media platforms as well as being shared with media and station announcements have been made throughout the day today.

"Our teams have worked hard to keep customers who did travel on the move with onward transport where possible.

"We appreciate customers' journeys have been affected and thank them for their understanding."

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