Train derailment updates: ‘Passengers trapped’ after carriages come off tracks in East Sussex with services cancelled and major delays expected

• A Southern passenger train has derailed close to Lewes railway station in East Sussex, with the incident happening at around 3.54pm this afternoon.
• Several of the rear carriages are understood to have come off the tracks and ended up on their sides, with images from the scene showing people on top of the overturned carriages.
• British Transport Police said officers were called to the scene at 3.54pm, and are responding alongside paramedics and firefighters.
• South East Coast Ambulance Service has sent a number of ambulance resources, including specialist teams, to the scene.
• There are currently no reports of fatalities or injuries.
• Southern is advising passengers not to travel through the area, with major disruption expected until around 10pm. 

It is being reported that three air ambulances and at least 20 other emergency vehicles are at the scene.

People can be seen standing on the top of carriages as others are treated by paramedics at the scene, with coach number 7 ‘completely unaccessible’.

Shaking with shock, a father-of-two told how he saw warning signs about problems with the track before the train derailed.

Liton Miah from Eastbourne was taking his wife and daughters to see relatives in London when the train overturned near Lewes.

He suffered heavy bruising to his side.

‘I saw on the big board there as a problem with the track.

‘I don’t know they didn’t take any precautions.

‘I saved my family and tried to help another couple.

‘The guy was bleeding heavily and there was not much I could do to help him.’

Mr Miah and his family went to the local community centre where injured people are being triaged before treatment.

Three of the trains carriages appear to have rotated onto their sides.

One looks to have slipped down the embankment and come to rest on its side.

There are two further carriages on their sides that have remained on the track.

The TSSA transport union has said it is ‘deeply concerned’ by the derailment near Lewes, adding its thoughts are with everyone affected.

It adds in a statement: ‘With a large number of passengers involved, their safety and wellbeing must come first.’

UK train drivers’ union Aslef has said it is aware of the derailment and asks the public to ‘allow the emergency services to do their job and refrain from speculation at this time’.

A source from the Department for Transport has reportedly told the BBC that the latest understanding is that there are ‘no serious injuries or fatalities’

Helena Dollimore, the Labour MP for Hastings and Rye in East Sussex, said news of a derailment in the area was ‘deeply distressing’.

As she urged her constituents to contact her office if they need ‘urgent support’.

Images from the scene appear to show that the train tracks have buckled.

This is when steel railways expand in the heat and start to curve.

Network Rail has confirmed that no trains can run through between Haywards Heath and Lewes ‘until further notice’.

Passengers travelling by rail should allow an extra 60 minutes if travelling in the affected area and passengers travelling to Gatwick Airport are being asked to allow an extra 90 minutes.

While stations Cooksbridge and Plumpton will not be served until further notice.