Hundreds stranded at Manchester Piccadilly after mass protest on tracks
Dozens of Kurdish protesters blocked trains from leaving the station
Last updated 11th Mar 2018
Hundreds of people were left stranded at Manchester Piccadilly station on Sunday afternoon, after dozens of protestors blocked the tracks.
The demonstration, organised by Manchester's Kurdish Community, was staged to raise awareness of the attack on the northern Syrian city of Afrin.
Police were called to the station just before 1pm to reports of a 'mass trespass'.
A number of the protesters had walked onto the tracks just outside of the station, while others carried flags and chanted - and others pushed children in prams.
Station staff closed the whole of Piccadilly to all passengers shortly after the incident began, and all trains out of the station were suspended.
Sophy was trying to get home to Lancaster:
The protesters were escorted from the station just before 3.30pm. A number were chanting 'Wake up UK' as they left.
The protesters told Key103 that they wanted to raise awareness of the plight of people in Afrin, that the Government was not helping them fight against the Turkish government and that ISIS involvement in Syria was being fuelled by Turkey.
The station was reopened shortly after 4pm with the first train to leave the station at 4.07pm