A mainline train could have been derailed after it ploughed into a shopping trolley that had been dumped on the track.

The train was not damaged and no-one was injured in the collision which happened at around 2.45pm yesterday on a stretch of line near Arbour Lane, Springfield, not far from Chelmsford station.

Passengers on the 1.40pm Norwich to London Liverpool Street service were delayed for 35 minutes as railway staff tried to wrench the mangled trolley from under the train.

Police and rail officials slammed the stupidity of the people who had carried out the act, saying it could have caused a major accident.

A spokesman for Railtrack said: "The trolley became trapped under the train but crew and a mobile fault team managed to remove it. We have to tackle acts of trespass and vandalism every day.

"Not only was this a dangerous act but the people who did it were very stupid as they could have been killed by the many hazards on the track.

"Railways are not playgrounds and we plead with people to stay away from the track."

The spokesman also told of a similar incident just outside Glasgow in 1998 when a busy commuter train came off the rails after hitting an abandoned trolley.

British Transport Police have launched a full investigation into yesterday's collision.

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