THE REGION'S police and crime commissioner has hit out at the "unacceptable" problems on trains throughout Worcestershire and said public safety could be put at risk by overcrowded carriages and platforms.

West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion criticised the county's train providers for their performance in recent weeks and said people are being let down by continuously delayed and cancelled trains.

Trains between Worcester and Birmingham have seen daily problems with regular delays and cancellations and overcrowded trains during busy rush-hour times.

Mr Campion said: “I believe local rail services are letting down our communities.

"Delayed or cancelled services at any time are going to cause problems, but the levels of problems in the region recently have been unacceptable.

“We have seen far too many instances where carriages and platforms have been overcrowded.

"Operators need to address this urgently and improve their performance.

"These levels of service cannot be accepted and allowed to become the norm.

"The more that happens, the more our communities will suffer and public safety could be put at risk."

West Midlands Trains has added more carriages to some trains travelling to Worcester in a bid to stop overcrowding.

A spokesman said: “We have introduced extra carriages and a new timetable this weekend to improve performance and capacity across the region.

“The British Transport Police (BTP) is the professional body for policing the railway.

"We have one of the safest railways in Europe.

"We are in regular contact with the BTP at all levels of the organisation and together we are well-practised at managing public safety across our network.”

West Midlands Trains has also started publishing daily figures showing its performance, number of delays and the reasons for delays and cancellations on its social media pages.