A 'body' spotted near railway tracks that caused widespread delays and cancellations turned out to be a doll.

At lunchtime today (July 19) Great Western Railway (GWR) announced all lines between Didcot Parkway and Swindon were blocked while emergency services dealt with an incident near the railway.

The train operator said services running through these stations would be cancelled or delayed.

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Officers had been called out to reports of what was suspected to be a casualty on the track.

The ambulance service was called in addition to the police and a Network Rail emergency response unit.

However, police have confirmed that the potential 'person' on the tracks has been removed and was in fact a model.

A spokesperson for British Transport Police said: “Officers were called to the line near Swindon railway station just after 1pm today (July 19) to reports of a possible casualty on the tracks.

"Officers attended and it was confirmed to be a mannequin.”

A spokesman for GWR confirmed all lines had reopened and services had returned to normal by 2pm.

The rail operator also said there had been issues with a fault with the signalling system between Oxford and Didcot Parkway which was also causing disruption on Friday afternoon.

GWR said train services running through those stations could be delayed with disruption expected until the end of the day. 

The operator advised passengers to claim Delay Repay compensation if they arrived at their destination 15 or more minutes late because the train was delayed or cancelled.