A rail passenger has criticised police after TWICE being questioned by armed officers over what turned out to be a headphone wire.

Jaz Oberoi, of Hanwell, was on a Paddington-bound train on Friday (July 3) when he was detained by police after another passenger raised concerns about a wire sticking out of his backpack.

The train was held for 30 minutes at Reading station before he was allowed back on, only to be taken off again for further questioning.

He told the BBC he felt "humiliated" by the experience, which he believes raises questions about how well police would deal with a genuine terror alert.

Although he said he had no objection to being questioned the first time, and was happy to cooperate, he claimed taking him off the train a second time was unnecessary.

"As a man of Indian decent, I am offended by the initial complaint as I do not believe a backpack and a headphone cable is enough to pull someone off a train in front of armed police, especially twice," the 31-year-old fundraising manager wrote in a statement on his Facebook page.

"As a Brit I am appalled at the way they dealt with a potential terrorist threat, yes the police were just doing their job... But if I was someone who was ready to do evil, pulling me on and off the train was not dealing with the situation properly. It was an absolute shambles."

Mr Oberoi claimed he had been detained by officers from British Transport Police (BTP) the first time and by Thames Valley Police (TVP) on the second occasion.

A BTP spokesman said: "Our officers were called to Reading station on Friday to reports of a group of men acting suspiciously.

"The call came into police at 3.10pm.

"Officers from BTP and colleagues from TVP met a London Paddington-bound train at Reading station and carried out a thorough search of the train.

"No one matching the description in the report was found. Enquiries continue."

A TVP spokeswoman told getwestlondon its officers had been supporting BTP, which had taken the lead in the operation.