An investigation is underway after a 14-year-old girl was left alone in a distressed state at a North-East station after being thrown off a train on the way to visit her father.

Elizabeth Brown was travelling from Sheffield to Newcastle on Sunday at around 6pm when a conductor said her ticket was not valid, and told her to get off the train at Darlington.

She called her father, and he contacted the police, who sent someone to sit with her until he arrived at the station.

A spokesman for Virgin Trains said it was investigating the incident and talking to the girl's parents about the matter.