Report: Train halts for soccer ball

A train driver on a journey from London to eastern England shocked a local soccer team when he ground the service to a halt to throw back their ball, which had landed on the tracks.

A massive clearance by a goalkeeper on a soccer pitch next to the railway line in Cambridge sent the ball flying over safety fences and on to the tracks just before the train was due to arrive.

Players and spectators watched in amazement as the train, instead of hurtling over the ball, came to a stop in front of it, the Cambridge News reported Tuesday.

The driver was met with rapturous applause when he left his cab and returned the ball, before sounding his horn in encouragement and resuming the service on Sunday morning.

Dave Heron, chairman of home team Cherry Hinton Lions Under-14s, said, "I was amazed ... The people on the train just looked on, probably wondering why it had stopped."

"What a remarkable man," he added. "I would like to thank him for his kindness, it restores your faith in human nature."