A TRAIN was pulled out of service this morning following poor behaviour from a “large number” of school kids, forcing delays to commuters.

The incident took place on the 7.41am c2c service from Pitsea bound for Shoebury today (June 15).

The company are aware of which school the individuals attend, but it cannot be revealed at this point.

One traveller took to Facebook to describe what she saw.

She said: “This morning, kids mucking around holding doors open, banging on the driver’s door and just general poor behaviour.

“Not all children behaving this way, but a large number.

“The driver and staff decided to put the train out of service and told passengers to get off and wait for the next train.

“This only agitated everyone even more and moved the problem into the next train.”

A spokesperson for c2c said: “I can confirm that due to an incident we unfortunately had to take a train out of service this morning.

“We have identified the school the individuals are from and will be speaking to them about the matter.

“We take the safety of our customers very seriously and will not tolerate unsafe behaviour on board our trains or at our stations.

“We apologise to any customers who had their journey impacted by this.”

Luke Mackenzie, Pitsea south-east councillor and Mayor of Basildon council, said: "I encourage everyone to behave on trains.

"I know it can be hot and frustrating at times, but we need to all share the spaces and think of other commuters."

Passengers who were delayed by more than 15 minutes can claim compensation through the firm’s Delay Repay scheme, which can be accessed here: c2c-online.co.uk/help-feedback/delay-repay/.