Commuters are facing rail delays of up to 90 minutes after a train ploughed into an animal on the line.

Firefighters from Crawley Fire Station were called to the incident at just before 7am this morning after reports that a train had collided with an animal, believed to be a deer, at the exit of the Balcombe Tunnel.

The train continued on to the Gatwick train stop before stopping and all passengers were forced to evacuate the train.

At 11.40am, rail firms announced that the stricken train had now been removed allowing trains to run again between Three Bridges and Gatwick.

A spokesman from First Capital Connect said: "At 6.40 this morning it was reported that the 6.10 from Brighton had struck a deer on the line.

"The animal’s torso came in contact with the third rail as it arrived at Gatwick Airport causing a small controllable fire which was soon dealt with by emergency services.

"Currently, southbound services are running with 90 minutes delays and we expect northbound services to resume shortly

"Bus replacement services are in operation."