Two people remain in hospital with ‘life threatening injuries’ following a mass stabbing on board a train from Doncaster to London last night.

Armed police attended the train, which made an emergency stop in Cambridgeshire, and arrested two British citizens on suspicion of attempted murder. 10 people were initially injured during the attack, which is thought to have taken place near Peterborough.

The train departed Doncaster at 18:25, and was heading to London King’s Cross.

The only suspect is described by police as being a 32-year-old British man. A 35-year-old British man of Caribbean descent was initially arrested but has since been released without charge after police confirmed he was not involved in the attack.

Armed officers arrived at the scene in Huntington within eight minutes of receiving calls from passengers on board.

Defence Secetary John Healey described the incident as ‘close to home’ on BBC News this morning. He said: “The facts are still emerging overnight, my team is in close contact with the Home Office.

“This is close to home. This was the very service that my wife and I Jackie took just a few hours before the attack, it’s the service I use every week to get home to Rotherham.

“I can’t begin to imagine how shocked and frightened those passengers were, a huge tribute to those passengers and the emergency services for their response because it could have been so much worse.”

Senior police officials have confirmed that the incident is not believed to be terror related.

Disruption is expected on the LNER line throughout Sunday 2 November.