A fire on a train has sparked travel chaos for thousands of Games spectators as Tubes to the Olympic Park were cancelled.

Sports fans travelling to Stratford on the Central line at around 7am on Tuesday were told they were told all services were terminating at Liverpool Street due to an incident at Leyton involving a "defective train".

At first, many were left stranded in stations on their way to the Games in a state of confusion and disarray as they were told to find alternative routes.

However the veil of mystery began to lift after station announcers at Bank told commuters there were reports of a fire on board the train.

Early-morning travellers on the Tube were instead advised to take the District or Jubilee lines to Stratford instead.

Severe delays continued on the Central line well into the morning causing some stands to appear decidedly empty as competitions went underway.

To add to the Olympic travel problems, rail services in and out of Liverpool Street main line station were disrupted due to an overhead wire problem between Elsenham and Stansted Mountfitchet in Essex.