THE body of a man was recovered from a stretch of railway near Oswaldtwistle at the weekend.

British Transport Police confirmed they had removed the body of a man who had been hit by a train near to Church and Oswaldtwistle Station, Market Street.

They said they responded to reports at approximately 8.30am on Saturday that a body had been spotted on the tracks around half a mile away from the station.

In a statement British Transport Police said: "Shortly after 8.30am a body was found at the scene and was removed from the tracks. A male was pronounced dead at the scene at 8.50am.

"At this stage we are not treating the death as suspicious. No formal identification of the body has taken place at the moment but we can confirm it was that of an adult male."

The incident occurred on the eastern line heading out towards Burnley and Colne and brought travel chaos to many Saturday morning travellers after the line was closed down for several hours.

British Transport Police said they had reported the incident to Network Rail which reopened the line later in the day.

Transport police said they were carrying out investigations in to the death and a file was being prepared for the coroner carrying out the inquest.

This is the second death on East Lancashire railways in a week after Patricia Hil, 62, of Cherry Tree Grove, Chorley, was struck by a train travelling from Manchester to Balckpool at the Rylands crossing between Dacca Street and Brock Road, Chorley, on Tuesday morning.

Anyone with information about Saturday's death should contact British Transport Police on 0800 405040.