"There was total chaos" Squirrels attack passengers on the train - journey aborted

They look cute, but squirrels are also agile and unpredictable. Train passengers in England had to learn this the hard way. For some, the animal incident probably had consequences.

Animal fare dodgers have caused a train journey in England to be aborted. Two squirrels caused chaos in the carriages of a train from Reading to Gatwick Airport near London and attacked passengers, British media reported.

"It was total chaos," the Sun newspaper quoted an eyewitness as saying. "The squirrels got into the rear carriage and attacked people." Many passengers then fled to another carriage. "The conductor had to lock the doors to prevent the squirrels from climbing through the train."

"Boarded without a ticket"

The aggressive rodents had boarded the train in the village of Gomshall - "without a ticket", according to the train company Great Western Railway (GWR). When the train stopped at Redhill station, staff tried for half an hour to persuade the cheeky climbers to get off the train with brooms and nuts - to no avail. GWR then decided to cancel the journey and send the train back to Reading.

It has not been ruled out that the animal incident may have cost some passengers their flight. Animals cause problems on British railways time and time again: Last year, swans disrupted rail services in London on several days in a row.

dpa