Delays on the mane line: lion alert shuts Shepley rail station

Shepley station closed and rail pasengers unable to alight after police reports of a lion on the line.

As wild excuses for rail delays go, it has to take pride of place.

Rail passengers were alarmed to be told that a station had been closed because of reports that a lion was on the loose.

The Network Rail message, relating to Shepley station, near Huddersfield, read: “Passengers are currently unable to alight from trains at Shepley due to reports by police of a lion in the area.”

The alert was issued after police received a call from a householder assuring them that she had seen a lion and her cub outside the Cask & Spindle pub in the village.

A dozen officers, backed by the force helicopter and with a specialist firearms unit on standby, were dispatched to the area, but found no sign of the beasts.

Shepley station was reopened soon afterwards.

“We believe the call was made in all good faith and was not a hoax,” said a police spokesman.

Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8873405/Delays-on-the-mane-line-lion-alert-shuts-Shepley-rail-station.html