STAFF at a train station were abused by members of the public after their trains were delayed when a man was seriously injured.

After a man reportedly fell onto the train tracks at Witham Station on Monday evening, members of the public became irate when some trains were delayed by up to 30 minutes.

The 68-year-old man is in critical condition after sustaining serious chest and head injuries when he reportedly fell onto the tracks from a bridge at around 8.30pm.

He was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge by the East Anglian Air ambulance.

Joe Newport, 19, lives in Norwich and was travelling back from London with his friends after a trip to Paris when his train was stopped at Witham.

He said: “I was on the train from London Liverpool Street to Colchester then Colchester to Norwich.

“This happened on my first train, I believe at 10:45pm it departed London and stopped at Witham.

“We were told that the train would be delayed because a man had been injured, I think he had fallen on the track.

“I didn’t see the man but we were told that the train was going to be delayed and we got off at Witham so they could turn it around.

“The staff at the station were being shouted at by drunk people and others that wanted to get home who were swearing at them.

“One member of staff was in tears.

“I ended up getting home at 2.45am but I wasn’t the one lying on the track.

“I think the staff deserve some recognition for what they did.”

A nearby resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “A gentleman fell off the platform, it would be very unlikely that he fell off the bridge, and British Transport Police has taken CCTV footage to look at.”

A spokesman for Abellio Greater Anglia said: "Services between Witham and Colchester were disrupted on Monday evening owing to the emergency services dealing with an incident.

“Our staff did all they could to minimise disruption and inconvenience to passengers.

“We would like to apologise to passengers who were affected.”