About 600 Sussex commuters are thought to have been evacuated this morning after a train caught fire.

The 6.57am Southern Railway train from Uckfield to London Bridge on Friday was stopped at Hurst Green in Surrey at around 7.40am after smoke was spotted coming from under the train.

A spokeswoman for Southern Railway said: "The driver was just outside Hurst Green station and stopped at the station to investigate. Flames were confirmed underneath the train and the passengers on board were evacuated immediately into the station and emergency services called.

"This is a busy commuter train and around 600 people would usually be on board, but numbers this morning are not available at present.

"We are working to restore the train service for passengers as soon as possible and would like to apologise for any delays and inconvenience caused."

The spokeswoman said the cause of the fire was unknown but a full investigation would be carried out.

Simon Boynton, a passenger on the train, said: "We were in the carriage where the fire broke out.

"It wasn't until we were on the platform that we saw why we had been evacuated. There were flames under the train and smoke coming out.

"The fire was put out fairly quickly though."

National Rail said that there would be delays of up to 40 minutes along the line. Replacement bus services were also running along sections of the route.

Were you on board the train? Do you have pictures of the blaze? Email news@theargus.co.uk, call 01273 544 519, or leave a comment below.