Southampton Central has been hit by major delays after a crane crashed into a shop near a train depot.

Around 30 railway staff were evacuated from the depot in Barnham after the neighbouring Co-op store was rammed into overnight, The Argus reports.

Rail services have since been hit with several delays, affecting Southampton Central.

Fewer trains are now running on all Southern routes between Brighton, Littlehampton, Portsmouth, and Southampton Central.

As a result, there are delays of up to one hour, with passengers advised to use an alternative route.

READ MORE: Disruption to rail services after overnight incident at crew depot

Officers from Sussex Police were called to a building site in Yapton Road at around 2.15am to reports of a small crane having been stolen.

Response units were deployed to nearby cash machines and discovered a crane attempting to steal an ATM from the supermarket in Barnham Road.

The driver of the crane, a 43-year-old man from Ashford, Middlesex, was detained after a short foot chase and was arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and criminal damage.

He remains in custody at this time.

A white Volvo XC60 was also seen to leave the scene.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, or has any information or footage that could help, is asked to contact police online or via 101, quoting serial 1624 of 03/07.