This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Rail services in northern England have been disrupted after lightning struck signal boxes in York and Doncaster.

All services running through Leeds and York were affected, including London North Eastern Railway (LNER) trains on the east coast mainline between London and Scotland.

Every Northern train scheduled to run via Leeds and York between around 9.30am and early afternoon was cancelled.

Transpennine Express services were also affected, forcing the cancellation of trains from Manchester Victoria to destinations including Scarborough, Newcastle and Middlesbrough.

Signalling problems in the Doncaster area caused delays of up to 70 minutes, with services to and from Hull particularly badly affected.

LNER advised passengers not to travel at all on Friday, and promising tickets would be valid over the weekend.

The lightning in York knocked out information boards at the station and blew a hole in the roof of one property.

Olivia Robinson, who lives near the affected house in the Nether Poppleton suburb, told the York Press: “There was a flash outside our window and a bang. I’ve never heard anything like it. Our ears are still aching.

“My mum was in the kitchen and the whole house shook. We could hear pots jangling and shaking. There was a bang next to our telephone. It just sent shockwaves down the street.”

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Due to today’s severe weather, there is currently widespread disruption to services. Teams from Network Rail have been and continue to be on standby and are out responding to issues and working hard to restore services where possible.

“Passengers planning on travelling today are strongly advised to check before they travel, via National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator. We’d like to thank passengers for their patience whilst we work to keep as many people moving as possible and we’re sorry for the disruption caused.”