Great Western Coffee Shop

A man has been detained under the Mental Health Act after a train passenger noticed he was writing what appeared to be a suicide note.

Julia Lynch-Williams, from Upton-upon-Severn in Worcestershire, was travelling from Birmingham to Euston when she spotted the man. She said she could see he was emotional and that he was writing a five-page letter about feeling desperate. She texted her husband who contacted police and the man was detained.

Mrs Lynch-Williams said she decided to contact her husband as she could not reach a guard and was worried about upsetting the man. She said: "I kept being drawn to look across at the note without trying to read it. I could see he was writing about being very desperate and very upset and then he turned his head away and had a little bit of a cry."

In a statement, British Transport Police said: "British Transport Police attended Euston railway station at 8.44am this morning following the concerns for the welfare of a passenger on board a train. Officers met the train at Euston station and detained a man under the Mental Health Act. He was then taken to a central London Hospital for assessment."