Hard-pressed commuters are facing misery tonight after a power failure has caused delays on train lines in and out of London towards Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth and Royston this evening.

A loss of power on the line between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin at around 4.40pm this afternoon has resulted in delays of up to 20 minutes for those using the line to and from London King’s Cross.

A spokesman for Great Northern told the Comet: “It is a very bad time of day to lose electricity.

“It couldn’t have come at a worse time as we reach the evening peak – but the power has been restored and we are hoping services will return to normal in the next hour or so.”