EMERGENCY services swarmed a train line following reports of person in need of assistance only to later discover it was a false alarm.

The British Transport Police were called to a train line near Marks Tey station just after 2pm on Sunday after concerns were raised for a person’s welfare.

Officers attended the scene, in addition to both air ambulance medics and paramedics, and a thorough search was conducted of the area.

Nearby resident and photographer Bob Covey said: “I saw the air ambulance, so I took photos from the railway bridge - there was a full-on ‘accident’ turnout.”

Gazette:

Despite their efforts to locate the reportedly unwell individual, nobody was found, and the call was subsequently considered a “false alarm”.

Greater Anglia, however, informed passengers on Sunday afternoon that the 1.35pm service from Clacton to London Liverpool Street had been disrupted.

The train company put the delays down to an “obstruction” on the tracks near Marks Tey which had materialised after one of the carriages was struck by an object.

An investigation was immediately launched to establish what the obstruction was, leaving some passengers stranded for nearly three hours.

By 4pm a spokesman for Greater Anglia confirmed all Marks Tey lines had reopened and train services would return to normal.

All Images: Bob Covey