A GROUP of angry passengers prevented a train leaving Hereford Railway Station.

British Transport Police were needed on Saturday night when six people prevented the train doors from closing and stopped the 21.48 service from continuing on its journey to Cardiff.

The protesters, made up of three couples, wanted Arriva trains to pay £100 for a taxi to take them back to Leominster, according to one witness.

Journalist Andrew Jenkins, who was returning to his Abergavenny home following an evening out at the Bartestree Cider Festival, heard the group claiming that they did not have enough time to get off in Leominster as the train headed south.

Mr Jenkins said the train was delayed by more than an hour.

“I asked them politely to move so the train could proceed but was told in no uncertain terms by the woman to go and sit down with the other passengers,” he added.

“I refused. I did toy with the idea of carrying the woman over the threshold on to the platform but thought better of it.”

Mr Jenkins spoke to train officials to see if passengers could board another train that had arrived in Hereford.

He added: “I asked the driver if that train could pull into platform three so we could swap and continue our journey – a few minutes later we were on our way.

“Talking to a couple from Abergavenny they were still clearly distressed. To add to the discomfort of the fiasco they had wanted to use the toilets but the toilets at Hereford Railway Station were all locked.”

No arrests were made and the incident is not being treated as a police matter.