Invading squirrels forced the cancellation of a GWR train service after they got on board and “refused to leave”.
Two mischievous rodents reportedly tried to hitch a ride on Monday’s 8.54am Great Western Railway service from Reading to Gatwick and then began attacking rush-hour commuters.
Witnesses said “pandemonium” ensued as passengers ran off the train at Gomshall in Surrey and the conductor attempted to force the squirrels to get off the busy carriage.
According to The Telegraph, one of the nutty creatures was successfully seen onto the platform further along in the route, but the other one could not be shifted so the service was cancelled.
The saga began when the train stopped at Gomshall at 9.47am when the pair of unwanted passengers jumped aboard the rear carriage.
A spokesman for GWR joked they had done so “without tickets”.
The squirrels then allegedly started to attack those on board, prompting the surprised passengers to flee onto the platform and get into other carriages, The Sun reported.
A source told the Telegraph: “It was complete pandemonium. The squirrels got into the rear carriage and attacked people.
“All the passengers ran off the train and got another carriage. The conductor then had to lock the doors to stop the squirrels moving up the train.”
The train continued on its journey until it arrived at Redhill, its penultimate destination.
Staff members at the station spent half an hour attempting to lure the squirrels off the train using broomsticks, a telescopic grabber and peanuts.
They succeeded in getting one of the rodents off the train but the other refused to leave.
The decision was made to terminate the service altogether and send the train back to Reading, where it originated.
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A spokesman for GWR, which has close ties to Swindon, said: “We can confirm that the 08.54am Reading to Gatwick was terminated at Redhill after a couple of squirrels boarded the train at Gomshall without tickets, breaching railway bye-claws.
“We attempted to remove them at Redhill, but one refused to leave and was returned to Reading to bring an end to this nutty tail.”
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