A fire on the railway halted trains early this morning.

Shortly after midnight, Southern announced that all lines were blocked between Haywards Heath and Brighton due to a fire in a tunnel next to the train tracks.

Trains in the area were stopped to allow the fire service to deal with the incident.

Stops at Burgess Hill, Hassocks and Preston Park were also cancelled for the remainder of service.

⚠️All lines are currently blocked between Haywards Heath and Brighton due to a fire next to the track

📢We have just been made aware of this so currently trying to gather further info from site

📱🕓Please check your journey on live journey planners and allow extra time to…

Southern trains were diverted via Lewes, adding 30 minutes onto journey times.

Disruption was cleared at around 2.45am. Trains are now running as normal.

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At the time of the incident, a spokesman for Southern said: “To allow the fire brigade to operate safely, trains have been stopped in the area.

“This can be necessary if the incident is too close to the track to allow services to pass, or if the fire brigade needs access to the site via the track.

“We'd like to thank you for your patience, and we're sorry for the disruption to your journey. We're closely monitoring progress on site.”

Southern has been approached for more information on the cause of the fire.