Responding to a recorded message to make contact “if you see something that doesn’t look right”, a woman in Huddersfield today called British Transport Police to the city’s rail station after seeing a Transpennine Express train leave on time.
“Watching the 08:35 to Manchester Airport arriving 15 minutes after it was supposed to depart is one of the comforting little rituals of my daily commute” said Tanya Jones, 35. “So when I arrived this morning and saw the train pulling out on time, something jarred in me, and I got suspicious. Then the announcement came over the tannoy and I knew what I had to do.”
“We’d like to thank Ms Jones for her swift action” said a spokesperson for British Transport Police. “That train could have been hijacked or anything. We will bring you further information as soon as possible, although we are unable to say exactly when, as unfortunately the train our officers were travelling on in pursuit has broken down just outside Slaithwaite.”