The theft of metal plates which caused severe rail delays is being investigated by British Transport Police.

Track failures were reported at West Croydon station at about 7am on Saturday July 28 and when engineers investigated they found two large metal plates on the track had been taken.

Detective Sergeant Jeremy Walley said: “The act of stealing metal is an extremely dangerous crime which is costly to the rail industry and to the thousands of passengers who rely on the rail network.

“Technological and forensic advances are making life more and more difficult for metal thieves and are increasing the opportunities for police to detect criminals, but we still need help from members of the public.

"We're making local enquiries to try and identify those responsible, which will include checks with local scrapyards, but anyone with information about the theft is asked to come forward."

If you know anything about metal thefts in the area call British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111