Travellers on the West Coast Main Line from Northampton were already facing delays for the seventh day after reports of overhead wire problems in the Atherstone area of Warwickshire.

And now Network Rail has revealed that, in addition to the Atherstone problem, the West Coast line was shut this morning between Milton Keynes and Rugby after a lorry hit the railway bridge at Bugbrooke.

Trains were being diverted via Northampton.

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Police said officers were called to the scene in Church Lane, Bugbrooke, shortly before 10am. Nobody was injured and the accident involved a single vehicle.

A Network Rail spokeswoman said the accident was reported to them just after 9.30am.

She added: "It caused only very minimal disruption and lasted for about 20 minutes.

"Diversions ran until about 10am but the affects on the routes were very minor."

The National Rail Enquiries website said the Atherstone problem had resulted in delays of up to 50 minutes, but Network Rail said the hold-ups had not been as severe as that.

The route affected includes Northampton, Rugby, Tamworth, Lichfield Trent Valley, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent, Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street.

It follows a series of problems with overhead cables on the line.

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