A man has been killed after being hit by a train at Berrylands station this afternoon.

The man, who has not been identified but is believed to be between 40 and 50, was hit by the Portsmouth to Waterloo fast service at 1.15pm.

According to the British Transport Police the driver applied the emergency brakes but was unable to stop the train, which was travelling at around 65 miles per hours, from hitting the man.

Officers believe the man had walked onto the tracks.

Commuters travelling out of London suffered delays of around an hour while emergency services worked on the tracks.

A spokesman from South West Trains, which runs services through the station, said the line should be returning to normal shortly.

Minesh Patel, who owns Stuart's Newsagents next to the station, said he saw the station master moments after the incident.

He said: "When I noticed the train had stopped I went to the station to see what happened. The station master said someone's been decapitated!' and looked really shocked. He hadn't seen anyone enter the station, and I didn't see anyone pass either."

Mr Patel added the move must have been deliberate because the tracks for the fast train are in the middle, in between the two tracks for slow trains.