RAILWAY cable thieves in Inverkeithing are believed to have been responsible for bringing the main east coast train line to a halt today (Tuesday).

British Transport Police are investigating damage to the line near Glebe Park which caused travel disruption to Fife services and those north to Aberdeen.

All trains were stopped between 11am and 1pm with an hourly service to Fife resuming thereafter. ScotRail hoped to have all services back to normal by late afternoon.

Copper cabling which runs alongside the line and carries power to the signals is increasingly becoming a target of thieves.

A Scotrail spokesman said, "The fault was discovered just before 11am and police are investigating cable being cut.

"These incidents are becoming more common in Scotland and people engaging in this are not only putting themselves at risk from the trains but also from electrocution." A British Transport Police spokesman confirmed that investigations were taking place in Inverkeithing to establish whether it was a case of theft or vandalism.

"These incidents are occurring throughout Scotland. There have been 24 reports of cable damage this year.

MSP Jim Tolson was having a meeting with Scotrail management when the problems occurred. "They said it was due to the theft of cabling. Whoever was responsible left people stranded without transport," said Mr Tolson.