TWO overnight fires at Canley in the West Midlands have caused serious disruption to trains running through Coventry.

Network Rail said it was working to repair signal cables damaged by the blazes, which 'appeared' to be caused by vandals.

One passenger said his journey between Birmingham and Long Buckby early today had taken three hours, after he had been diverted to a replacement bus at Birmingham International to reach another train at Coventry.

There are also no trains between Leamington Spa and Coventry. Operators affected are Virgin Trains, London Midland and CrossCountry.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: "While the cause of the fires near Canley isn't confirmed at this stage, it does appear to be vandalism and we will be working with the police to trace those responsible.

"We are carrying out repairs and working with all affected train operators to return services to normal as quickly as possible."

Separate disruption in the region between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon has been caused by an engineering overrun near Tyseley.