Kirkstall Forge: Leeds family's London trip Christmas present woes as trains cancelled over flooded tracks

Karena Moore-Millar arrived at Kirkstall Forge with her partner and two kids at 10am, after the first leg of their journey had been cancelled.

They had their fingers crossed that they would make the second leg from Leeds Station to the capital as they boarded a rail replacement bus from Kirkstall Forge.

The trip came as part of a Christmas present they received last week, although some of the excitement had been replaced with travel nerves.

They were forced to board a rail replacement bus this morning (January 2) and are hoping they’ll make it to London despite the major travel chaos.

Today’s disruption comes after heavy rain overnight, which caused the train lines in Kirkstall to become waterlogged.

Dramatic footage showed teams from Network Rail urgently working to remove the water near to the Kirkstall Bridge Inn pub.

Karena, 48, said: “We've literally just been dropped in it. We've had to drop all of our plans and get the car here because this is the closest station.

"We're hoping to catch the train from Leeds now. Otherwise it's ruined this surprise Christmas present."

There was little activity at Kirkstall Forge Station today. Typically, it is busy with workers arriving at the nearby office development, but all trains in and out had been cancelled.