Eurotunnel
Passengers are awaiting their cars in France after being evacuated from a Eurotunnel train Richard Byrom

Eurotunnel passengers are facing massive delays after a broken-down train plunged the cross-Channel line into chaos.

Hundreds of passengers were evacuated from deep beneath the English Channel after overhead power failure caused the shuttle to break down seven miles into a 30-mile journey.

In total 382 passengers and four dogs were taken to France in a separate train to await the arrival of their vehicles, which are on the shuttle.

Services have been seriously hampered by the fault, which happened at approximately 7.30am, and are operating on just a single line.

Huge queues of traffic have started to built at the tunnel's entrance in Folkestone, Kent, as passengers face delays and cancellations lasting all day.

Eurotunnel, which owns and runs the line, was unable to comment on the fault but a statement on its website said: "Our passenger service is currently operating with some timetable disruption, this is due to an incident in the Tunnel which is in the process of being resolved.

"There is a waiting time of approximately 60 minutes before check in and 5 hours on the terminal. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this will cause to your journey."

A Eurostar spokesman warned passengers of "really quite significant disruptions" to its services and said passengers should only travel if they are required to do so.