BANK Holiday travellers have been hit by major delays on the East Coast Mainline due to damaged overhead wires.

Approximately 200m of overhead equipment is damaged, affecting all four lines.

No services are running between Grantham and Peterborough, and hundreds of passengers are believed to be stranded at Grantham Station.

One passenger who boarded a train from Durham at 9.41am and arrived at Grantham at 1.05pm, said: "It is absolute chaos here, with 300 to 400 people stuck in the concourse of the station unable to get anyway.

"We are all being sent by taxi to Peterborough now. This must be costing an absolute fortune."

A statement on the East Coast website says: "Overhead wire problems are causing disruption between Grantham and Peterborough.

"Because of this, trains are currently unable to run between Grantham and Peterborough. There is no current estimate for when a normal service will resume.

"There is no replacement road transport available at this time. Passengers are advised to use alternative routes where possible."

A statement from operator Grand Central says: "Network Rail engineers are on site and are working to fix the problem as quickly as possible.

"Due to the extent of the damage, passengers are being advised not to travel to expect major disruption on the East Coast Main Line for the rest of the day, and to seek other routes for their journeys wherever possible. "