VANDALS brought the East Coast Mainline between Darlington and Newcastle to a halt yesterday.

Two windows on the 14.48 Sunderland to Liverpool Arriva Trains service were smashed near Durham while passengers were inside.

The train stopped and all travellers were moved into an adjoining carriage, causing delays on the line.

Ray Price, managing director of Arriva Trains Northern, said: "We would urge anyone who has any information on this incident to contact the police.

"We always seek to prosecute anyone who risks the safety of our employees or customers."

Train companies in the North-East say vandalism is a major problem.

Earlier in the summer, police were issued with off-road motorcycles to catch trespassers on the region's tracks.

Only last month, Arriva hailed a reduction in the cases of railway trespass and vandalism during the school holidays.

Dyan Crowther, commercial director of Arriva Trains, said the company had worked hard during the summer with its partners to reduce such incidents.

British Transport Police said that despite the region's reputation for being the worst in the country for such problems, no serious incidents were recorded on the network while the schools were closed.