COMMUTERS were delayed by up to one and a half hours after a man slipped and fell injuring his ankle at Welshpool Train Station due to icy conditions.

Plunging temperatures meant that overnight rain had frozen solid, making walking on pavements and driving on un gritted roads dangerous in parts of Montgomeryshire.

At Welshpool Railway Station, a man slipped while alighting from 8.30am train from Newtown to Welshpool.

He was stuck on the station from 8.50am to 10.40am before he was taken to Welshpool Victoria Memorial Hospital hospital for treatment.

Staff from the train helped Gavin Grosvenor, from Newtown, recover from his fall, giving him a hot drink and a blanket as he recovered from the shock.

This meant that the train could not continue on with it's journey to Shrewsbury.

After an hour long wait a second train arrived in Welshpool to take the train passengers on to Shrewsbury.

A spokesman for Arriva Trains Wales who are responsible for platform safety, said: “Arriva Trains Wales holds the safety of our customers and colleagues as our absolute priority.

"As a result, we have a detailed and robust process in place for ensuring that our stations are made as safe as practically possible during difficult cold weather conditions.

"Our teams of hard working station colleagues closely monitor weather forecasts and work around the clock to respond to potential frost and icy conditions, gritting platforms where forecasts make us aware of risks of slippery underfoot conditions.

“As well as gritting, we also work hard to advise our customers of where platforms may become slippery and then they need to take extra care when boarding or alighting trains.

"Despite all this hard work and focus however, when looking after 246 stations right across our network, it is not always possible to remove the risk of slippery conditions completely, and we apologise to any of our customers affected by the cold weather.

"We will contact the customer to discuss the situation and wish them a speedy recovery.”

In Decmber The County Times highlighted tha dangers of ice at the Train Station Footbridge.

A number of residents and wokers in the town have raised concerns over the ‘Dangerous’ condition of Welshpool Train Station footbridge, during December's icy weather.