Commuters were forced to swap trains for a fleet of standby buses after vandals took an axe to a signalbox in the Northampton area in an attempt to steal cables.

The resulting disruption was the latest in a series of delays for travellers. On Thursday, signalling problems in the Bletchley area caused hours of misery for local commuters.

Paul Robinson, an executive driver from Birmingham, set off on a direct train from London Euston to Northampton at 9am but did not arrive until after noon.

He said: "It was supposed to be a non-stop service but once we were on the train we were told it would divert to Rugby and we would have to get a coach from there.

"I think if we were warned before we got on I could have got a different train or something."

Che Assasi, who had travelled from Leamington Spa to see his family, said: "It has taken me three hours; something goes wrong on this journey every day."

John Smith, who travelled up from London to see his family in Northampton, said: "We had to stop off in Milton Keynes and get a bus service. It took nearly two hours."

A spokesman for Virgin Trains said: "It wasn't a long-lasting problem."