Two squirrel passengers cause Gatwick train cancellation

A morning train to Gatwick Airport has been cancelled after two squirrels boarded and another refused to get off.

The pair of rodents forced Great Western Railway’s (GWR) 08:54 BST service between Reading and Gatwick on Saturday to stop at Redhill after boarding the train at Gomshall in Surrey.

Passengers continued along the train after the rodents climbed into the rear carriage, where the conductor locked them in, a GWR spokesman said.

A Network Rail staff member tried unsuccessfully to get the animals off the train at Redhill and the squirrel which refused to leave was returned to Reading, GWR said.

A GWR spokesperson said: “We can confirm that train 0854 from Reading to Gatwick was disrupted at Redhill after a couple of squirrels boarded the train at Gomshall without tickets, in breach of railway safety regulations.

“We tried to eliminate them at Redhill, but one of them refused to leave and was sent back to Reading to put an end to this crazy business.”

In December A hedgehog was found hiding under a train seat on a service between Weybridge and London Waterloo.

The animal, named Hector, was picked up by a railway worker and his family.