A MAN died last night after he was hit by a train at Chester-le-Street station.

The fatality caused delays of upto an hour on the East Coast Main Line and services returned to normal by 9.30pm.

The victim is thought to have been a 64-year-old man from the Durham City area - although no formal identification has yet been made.

A spokesman for British Transport Police said they received a report at 5.45pm of a fatality on the line.

He said: "A male adult was struck and fatally injured at the station itself.

"We have started an investigation to identify the deceased and the circumstances of the incident. However, we are not treating the incident as suspicious."

He added that they expected to re-open Chester-le-Street railway station at about 9pm.

A spokesman for Durham Police said that the man was struck by the train on the southbound track of the East Coast Main Line.

Services operated by National Express East Coast, First Transpennine Express and CrossCountry were affected by the delays.