Vandals are suspected of pulling down railway power cables, causing long delays for commuters.

Overhead wires were damaged near a bridge, close to Westcliff station, which meant the London-bound track was out of action during the Friday morning rush.

The damage came as another blow to commuters, after strong winds damaged the lines and caused serious disruption the previous day.

Staff at c2c, which operates the Shoebury to Fenchurch Street line, suspect yobs may have used the vantage point of the bridge to attack the cables.

The problems meant no trains east of Pitsea station travelled to London until around 7.30am, at which time the Southend-bound track was used for services travelling up to Fenchurch Street.

Graham Bashford, c2c spokesman, said: "There were some problems with the overhead lines at Westcliff, near a bridge.

"One of the options was it was to do with vandalism, but we do not know that for sure."

Mr Bashford said the cables may have been damaged in Thursday's high winds, although there had been no sign of a problem until Friday morning when the weather had calmed.

He added: "We have the facility, in certain situations, to run trains in the wrong direction. The vast majority of people between Shoebury and Benfleet want to travel to London. People going eastbound were provided with buses."

Commuter Michael Clarke, 36, of Leigh, said he did not get to his London office until 10am. He said: "We were told the vandals had brought down power lines.

"The only trains to London were having to use the Southend-bound track."

The line was back in action in both directions by 9.15am, although with slight delays.