Man causes commuter chaos after hiding up a tree on railway lines for more than 17 HOURS
A MAN has caused travel chaos by climbing up a tree and refusing to come down for over 16 hours today.
The man, who has not yet been named, was pursued by police over an attempted burglary in the area.
He fled from officers along railway lines in Charlton, south London, before climbing into the tree, where he remained throughout today.
He was finally removed from the tree this evening and was promptly arrested for burglary and obstruction of trains with intent, according to the British Transport Police's Twitter account.
A British Transport Police spokesman said: “Our officers were called to a trespass incident near Charlton station at 2am on Wednesday 13 August, after reports of a man on the tracks.
“Colleagues from the Metropolitan Police Service and London Ambulance Service are also in attendance.
“The man is currently still on the scene, and specialist officers are talking to him in order to resolve the situation.”
Commuters using Southeastern services have been by hit by 20-minute delays, cancellations and diversions via Bexleyheath.
Services between Cannon Street and Greenwich, and between London Charing Cross and Gillingham are affected.
The line has reopened in the London-bound direction so trains can now run, however country-bound services are still suspended between Greenwich and Dartford.
Train passenger Joanne Stone tweeted that commuters were being told by the driver to look out for the man as they passed, like a guided tour.
She said: "Obviously didn't do a good job of hiding then as the driver was pointing him out!"
The commuter went on: "I had headphones in but he definitely said to look, just like a tour, "If you look to your left now...."
He's not going anywhere is he? He's trapped
Chief Inspector Jenny Gilmer, who is at the scene, says the suspect is around 15ft up in the tree and not in any "immediate danger".
She added: "We have been using a number of tactics to try and get him down, predominantly negotiator led.
"Our concern is for his individual safety but we are also taking into consideration the fact we realise this is causing disruption for people and we are grateful for people's patience and the fact they are bearing with us throughout this protracted incident."
We are still working to bring the man down from the tree at #Charlton. This has been a difficult and lengthy operation for all involved. 1/3
— BTP (@btp_uk) August 13, 2014
We are looking at all possible tactics to bring the man down from the tree, but the safety of all concerned is a priority. 2/3
— BTP (@btp_uk) August 13, 2014
We'd like to thank everyone for their patience throughout the day and hope to have things back to normal as soon as possible. #Charlton 3/3
— BTP (@btp_uk) August 13, 2014
But resident Len Brown, 78, said: "He's not going anywhere is he? He's trapped, there's no way out.
"It's a lot of money spent on just one young bloke."
A spokesman for Southeastern said: "At 3.06am this morning we received a report of a person having climbed a tree at the side of the rail line between Charlton station and Charlton Lane crossing.
"The individual involved refused to move from the tree and police are currently on site dealing with the incident.
Man up a tree in Charlton. Trains a total nightmare. Who's coming to the pub?! #southeastern
— Nancy Brown (@MissN_Brown) August 13, 2014
Rush hour. This Charlton tree man is on his way to becoming more unpopular than Southeastern themselves....
— Mark Chandler (@Mark_Chandler) August 13, 2014
"Clearly while this person remains in the tree, which overhangs the line, it wouldn't be safe for us to run our trains in the area and so we've been diverting trains via Bexleyheath this morning.
"We've also arranged for tickets to be accepted on alternative means of transport, including the Docklands Light Railway and local buses.
"We'll continue to do so until the police have been able to resolve the situation and we advise passengers looking to travel this morning to check our website at www.southeasternrailway.co.uk for the latest travel updates."