'They couldn't get out': Passengers locked in Oxenholme station because of late train

• Video report by Matthew Taylor.

A train company has apologised for locking in passengers at Oxenholme station for nearly an hour after staff went home for the night.

Some tried to climb the gates before a Network Rail employee arrived with a key.

Passengers have spoken about their frustration, including Rhiannon Neale:

Westmorland MP Tim Farron has demanded an investigation into the incident.

"This is just a further example of the failures by Avanti" he said. “We have seen a mass of cancellations of Avanti services, failures in the reservation systems, and now a locked station.

“There are clearly systematic failures going on at Avanti and we cannot let it go unchecked.

“Avanti have turned one of the best services in the country into one of the worst. What happened last night could have very quickly become dangerous and I have already written to Avanti to demand an explanation for their oversight."

Avanti West Coast have said they are investigating why passengers on a late-running train were unable to get out of the station.

In a statement they said: "We’re sorry to hear about the experience of the customers who were at Oxenholme station.

"We’re currently looking into the circumstances of what happened. We’d like to thank the Network Rail team onsite for their swift action and for getting our customers out of the station safely.”

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