Thousands of Britons have woken up to travel chaos after a suspected fire between Chelmsford and Ingatestone left commuters heading into London stranded.

The commuter town of Chelmsford, where 8,500 people travel into London for work every day, was left at a standstill this morning as queues gathered at the station’s London-bound Platform One.

Stations further along the Greater Anglia line have also been impacted, with regular commuting hotspots going as far back as Colchester and Ipswich.

Greater Anglia staff have been heard advising commuters to make the 10-mile drive up the A12 to Shenfield as services were delayed until further notice.

The 5.41am train from Chelmsford to London Liverpool Street was delayed without any advice on when normal service will resume.

The train, which stopped at Chelmsford for more than 20 minutes, is also now being redirected back to Clacton-on-Sea.

Greater Anglia's live disruption map suggests that commuters from Braintree, Witham, Chelmsford and Ingatestone will also face severe delays this morning.

Minor delays due to an unrelated issue are expected between Clacton-on-Sea and Thorpe-le-Soken.

GB News has approached Greater Anglia for comment.