Rail services have returned to normal after a derailed train caused major disruption at Eastleigh this morning.

The "operating incident" caused delays of up to 30 minutes, which continued until around 1.30pm.

A spokesman for CrossCountry Trains said that one of its passenger trains due to start service that morning at either Southampton or Bournemouth was coming out of Eastleigh Depot when two wheels managed to come off the rails.

The train was not in service and only a driver was on board, he said, and he had not been advised of any injuries.

He said though the train was not on the main lines and was causing problems with the signalling. Officials had to wait for equipment to arrive to move the stranded train.

The spokesman added there would be a full investigation into the incident and apologised to passengers for delays.

Lines were blocked through Eastleigh station for a short time but services to and from the South coast were badly disrupted.

It affected services to and from the South West to London Waterloo and Paddington, for commuters at Weymouth, Poole, Bournemouth, Southampton and as far as Portsmouth.

South West Trains said trains towards Southampton and Fareham would need to stop at two signals and get permission to continue. This caused further delays and meant they would not run as many trains as normal through the station.

Trains that normally run from Waterloo to Portsmouth via Eastleigh were not able to run and were replaced by a shuttle service, starting at Eastleigh.

Trains normally running between Romsey and Salisbury via Eastleigh were not able to run.

The spokesman added there would be a full investigation into the incident and apologised to passengers for delays.