THOUSANDS of London Marathon spectators were left facing travel chaos after Docklands Light Railway services were suspended due to a failed train.

Services between Greenwich and Crossharbour were suspended after a train broke down at Mudchute at 8.30 this morning.

Shuttle services were operated between Greenwich and Lewisham by Serco Docklands, the company which manages the network, and the Greenwich foot tunnel was opened to pedestrians heading north.

Normal services were resumed at around 2pm this afternoon.

Managing director Tony Thomas said: "We are disappointed with the disruption caused on today's services especially as we have increased our trains and resources by 50 per cent in preparation for the London Marathon.

"We would like to apologise to our customers and spectators of the London Marathon for the disruption caused to their journeys.

"Our staff, engineers and technicians have worked very hard provide the best service possible during the incident and also to resume services to normal as quickly as possible, without compromising passenger safety.

"Over the years that we have been running train services for the London Marathon, we have provided an excellent service.

"We are investigating the incident and doing everything we can to ensure that today's incident does not occur again."