Man on train roof at Gillingham station taken to hospital after incident causes rail delays across Kent
11:58, 02 September 2019
updated: 12:23, 02 September 2019
A topless man seen 'train surfing' along carriage roofs of a high speed service has been taken to hospital.
The incident at Gillingham station yesterday evening led to delays across the network in Kent after rail engineers were forced to cut the power.
Police, paramedics and firefighters were sent to the scene shortly after 4pm.
A spokesman for British Transport Police said officers were called after reports of a man "in a precarious position".
They added: "Specialist officers attended alongside fire crews and paramedics and a man was taken to hospital where he is undergoing assessment."
It is understood the man is receiving treatment for a mental health condition.
Trains were disrupted for several hours after Southeastern cut the power to all lines in the Gillingham area for about an hour.
Some services were delayed while others were cancelled altogether.
Passengers reported being stuck on trains in several parts of Kent including Sole Street, Medway, Sittingbourne, Sandwich and Deal.
Many travellers took to social media to complain to Southeastern, which said in response: "Each service is being moved on a train-by-train basis and some services are having to 'repower' after being stopped for so long, this is for safety purposes and follows a backlog which has been built up."
The operator has been highlighting its Delay Repay scheme which allows passengers to claim compensation if they are delayed for more than 30 minutes.
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