Walkers crossing Morecambe Bay are suffering overcrowded trains because there are not enough carriages to cope with their growing numbers.

Hordes of damp walkers numbering up to 600 at a time have been cramming into carriages on the Furness Line between Barrow and Carnforth run by First North Western.

Arnside Parish Council chairman David Willacy recently took a train south on the line and said the train was soon full of returning walkers.

"It was bad enough when we got to Kents Bank but at Grange-over-Sands nobody could get on," he said.

"All the cross bay walkers were wet - and so were we by the time we had finished! The general travelling public are suffering."

And he warned that day trippers to Grange might find the train they wanted to catch was full, forcing them to wait for another.

The problem of overcrowding was compounded by trains on Sundays regularly running only one passenger carriage.

Hayley Caulfield, a spokesman for First North Western, said: " We have supported in the past a variety of events including major sporting events, fund-raising events and concerts.

"We encourage organisers to contact us if their event will considerably affect customer numbers. When organisers contact us, attempts are always made to look at how we can strengthen a particular service but this is not always possible," she added.

"However, the safety and comfort of our customers is always our priority and it is something we look at doing in most cases."