A man hit and killed by a train had escaped from a custody vehicle travelling from a police station to court, police said.

The man, in his 40s, escaped the transport contractor's vehicle as it was stationary on the A1(M) motorway, a joint statement from Hertfordshire Police and British Transport Police (BTP) said.

It said during a search of the area, BTP was called at about 09:40 BST to a casualty on the track near Welwyn North railway station.

The statement said formal identification had not taken place, but the man's family had been made aware.

Hertfordshire Police said the vehicle had been travelling from the custody suite at Stevenage police station.

The forces said two members of transport contractor staff were injured "during an altercation in the van" and were taken by ambulance to hospital for treatment.

It happened at about 09:00.

Hertfordshire Police has referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

A file has been prepared for the coroner.

Inquiries are continuing "to establish the full circumstances and officers will remain in the area while initial investigations continue", a spokesperson said.

David Elsdon, 82, who lives close to the station in the village of Digswell, said he had never seen so many police before and it "was all a bit of a shock".

"We were just out the front ready to leave for the town and inundated with a number of police cars coming along," he said.

"I think we passed 10 in total before we got out on to the main road."

National Rail said earlier Thameslink, LNER and Great Northern trains, from London through Hertfordshire, Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, had been delayed but the line had reopened with some delays and cancellations still expected.

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Train services are disrupted after lightning damaged signalling equipment.

The line will shut between Birmingham New Street and Lichfield Trent Valley from 29 to 31 May.

Network Rail's work will mean bus will replace trains between Reading and Newbury or Bedwyn.

The 41-year-old died from a gunshot wound to the chest, says the police watchdog.

Southbound trains heading to Oxford will stop calling at Tackley for more than 10 months.