Southern rail services are recovering following disruption this morning caused by a raid on a cashpoint close to Barnham station, bear Bognor Regis in West Sussex.

At around 03:20, there was an attempt to remove the cash machine located in the wall of the Co-op supermarket on Barnham Road. The raiders used a JCB digger in the attack on the Co-op, which is part of the same building as the next-door traincrew depot.

The shop front was severely damaged, and police arrested a 43-year-old man who fled the scene on foot.

Barnham’s traincrew depot had to remain closed until 09:00, awaiting confirmation from a structural engineer that it was safe to enter. Drivers and other on-train staff had to book on duty at alternative locations, which made it impossible for Southern to run its full service. The delays continued into the afternoon.

Southern’s Customer Service Director Jenny Saunders said: “We were forced to close the depot until 9am when a structural engineer from the council confirmed it was safe to enter.

“Until then, our crew were being organised to sign on at alternative locations wherever possible but we could only run a reduced service and there has been a lot of disruption to our customers’ journeys today, for which I apologise.

“We arranged ticket acceptance with other transport providers and we have been rebuilding the service. Regrettably, disruption due to the displacement of our colleagues and trains is expected to last into the afternoon.”

“Anyone whose journey was delayed by 15 minutes or more can claim Delay Repay compensation at southernrailway.com.”