A man was struck and killed by a train near Barnes station on Monday morning, causing passenger delays of up to one and a half hours.

William Stephenson, 31, from north London stepped out in front of the train and was killed at approximately 10.50am.

Passengers on board the 9.42am service from Reading to London Waterloo were trapped in their carriages for an hour and twenty minutes until police removed the body and the train could pull into the platform of the nearby station.

Mr Stephenson was killed as the train approached the level crossing near Vine Road. All trains through Barnes were delayed, although services continued by being diverted along the Chertsey branch of the track.

South West Trains served tea and coffee to passengers stuck on the train and paid for taxis for those who had urgent appointments, such as one man who needed to catch a connecting Eurostar train to France.

An SWT spokesman said: We would like to apologise for the delays to services, but unfortunately they happened because of events beyond our control.

Police say they are not treating the mans death as suspicious. An inquest was opened at Kingston Coroners Court on Wednesday.