A swan gracefully stopped in its tracks to have a rest on the line between Hampton Wick and Kingston this morning.

Cosied up between the track lines the animal was safely removed before South West Trains (SWT) services were resumed on Friday (January 13) morning.

However there may still be some delays of up to 20 minutes for passengers travelling between Twickenham , Shepperton and Wimbledon .

SWT said disruption is expected until at least midday and some trains may have to miss stops or be terminated short of their original destination for the next journey to start on time.

Commuters took the news of this delay in good grace.

On twitter @SW20Macca tweeted: "There's a swan on the line at Kingston...probably trying to warm up."

Swan on the line causes delays to South West Trains

Meanwhile @nimhaos said: "Train is late due to a swan on the line... that's the best one yet!"

Services are also being affected on the mainlines through Wimbledon with late starts and congestion between London Waterloo and Wimbledon.

An SWT statement said: "A swan on the line is causing delays to services in the Kingston area.

"The swan has now safely been removed from the railway and all lines have now re opened.

"We are aiming to recover the train service to normal running as quickly as possible.

"We are sorry for any delays to your journey this morning."