Woman dies in train fire

A 43 year-old woman died in a fire in a train toilet cubicle on Monday evening.

The Northampton to Euston train was approaching Leighton Buzzard when a passenger spotted a fire in the cubicle. West Coast mainline services were severely delayed as a result of the incident. It is thought that the woman committed suicide but an investigation will be carried out to find out exactly what happened.

A spokesperson for British Transport Police said: “The deceased woman has injuries consistent with burns. No other person is believed to have been involved in the incident and it is not being treated as an accident.”

The overhead power lines were switched off as a precaution as police, firefighters and the ambulance service attended the scene.

Anne Farthing, 49, who saw the fire from her home said: “I looked out of the window and saw thick smoke that was like a fog.” Another eye witness said: “The smoke was so thick it got onto your chest. The fire, police and ambulance service were here very quickly.”