British Transport Police has confirmed that a major incident has been declared following the incident on Thursday afternoon.

The force said a number of passengers became trapped on the train but they have now been "safely evacuated".

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Drummond-Smith said: "We've declared a major incident and a significant emergency service response is ongoing at the scene, but all passengers on the train have now been safely evacuated from the service.

“Our thoughts are of course with everyone affected, and I’d like to reassure the public that we’re supporting the Rail Accident Investigation Branch to establish exactly what's happened. We’ll provide further information as soon as we are able."

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Hastings and Rye MP Helena Dollimore has been speaking to BBC South East today this afternoon.

She said: "I think all of us rely on our local trains and take for granted that they run safely.

"It will be extremely distressing for people to hear that there has been an accident of this nature.

"All of us are hoping that the injuries are as limited as possible."

As a reminder, South East Coast Ambulance Service has confirmed that two patients have sustained serious injuries, while a further nine passengers suffered less serious injuries.

We can bring you the latest pictures of the train which derailed near Lewes in East Sussex. The train is seen on its side in a field next to the tracks, with emergency workers arriving to investigate.

Image source, Eddie Mitchell

Image source, Eddie Mitchell

Rozina Sini
BBC News

More eye witnesses are sharing their accounts of the derailment with BBC Your Voice.

Shannon Jones, who was onboard, said the derailment "felt like a car crash", adding: "We all flew forward. The train started wobbling from side to side, it felt like the driver had slammed brakes.

"I was in the fifth carriage, so not the one that derailed. No one knew what was going on.

"We first thought we may have hit someone. Then we heard someone shout 'call the emergency services, it's really bad'.

"We heard the sirens and helicopters and a police officer motioned that help was coming and they needed to check the rail track wasn’t live.

"Then we had to go down a ladder one by one and then across the track and the embankment down the field."

Image source, Shannon Jones

South East Coast Ambulance Service says there were about 150 people on board the train when it derailed near Lewes.

A spokesperson said: "We can confirm that two patients have sustained serious injuries and a further nine patients have sustained less serious injuries.

"Patients have been assessed and treated at the scene, with some transported to local hospitals for further treatment and care.

"A number of passengers who did not require hospital treatment have been taken to a local community centre, where they are being supported by partner agencies."

It added that it continues to respond to the major incident alongside other emergency services and urged people to avoid the area.

We have heard from South East Coast Ambulance, who have confirmed that "two people sustained serious injuries".

Eye witness John May has shared photos of the derailed train showing passengers clambering out of the tipped over carriage.

Others are standing on top of the carriage as they escape from the scene.

Image source, John May

Image source, John May

Image source, John May

Image source, John May

New pictures that have been shown to the BBC show people leaving the train, with carriages on their side after they left the tracks.

The train was due to terminate at Eastbourne.

The town's MP, Josh Babarinde, says he has already been informed of one constituent who suffered injuries to their ribs in the derailment.

In a social media post, Babarinde described the incident as "utterly shocking" and thanked emergency services for their response.

"I’m full of gratitude for our emergency services who have responded quickly and are pulling out every stop to ensure that passengers and staff who were on the train are taken to safety as soon as possible - thank you to them," he wrote.

"This is clearly distressing for those passengers and staff on board, even if they didn’t sustain physical injuries, and I have made representations for the appropriate mental health support to be made available to affected passengers and staff without delay."

He added serious questions will need to be answered about how this happened, but called for everyone to pull together in the interim.

BBC South East reporter Sofia Akin is near the scene of the derailment as emergency services continue their response.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service says it has sent 10 fire engines, a command support unit, technical rescue teams, officers and other resources.

A spokesperson said: "We have been helping reach passengers and assisting other emergency services."

Image source, Sofia Akin

We have been hearing from another passenger who was on board the train when it derailed near Lewes.

John May, from St Leonards, said the service from London Victoria was "quite packed".

"We were coming up here and suddenly the train just started to shift side-to-side and derailed," he told BBC News.

May said he was in the fourth carriage from the rear of the train.

"We were fortunate that we stayed on the embankment. The last three carriages rolled down into the field," he said.

He added: "There were a lot of older people and children."

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed that it is currently responding "to a major incident" alongside other emergency services.

Southern says it has requested rail replacement buses to run between Haywards Heath and Lewes.

They have not yet been confirmed, so passengers have been told to continue using their own alternative routes.

There will be no service in either direction at Cooksbridge and Plumpton stations for the rest of the day. Passengers are being advised to speak to station staff or use station help points for further information.

Anyone travelling to Gatwick Airport and connecting to a flight is being told to allow an extra 150 minutes for their journey.

We have more from passenger Rob Bradley, who was travelling with his six-year-old daughter Mabel.

He says passengers remained on board for "about an hour and a half" after the derailment.

"It was quite pandemonium for a while. There's hundreds of police, fire and ambulance crews and everything," he told BBC News.

Bradley says it was "incredibly hot" on the train because the air conditioning stopped working and no doors or windows were open.

He adds that he heard police had counted 110 passengers across four carriages, although he says it was unclear how many people were on the rest of the service, which he described as busy.

These latest pictures from eyewitness Rob Bradley in Lewes show the aftermath of the derailment, as police, fire and rescue crews remain at the scene.

Rail industry expert Rich Wilcock says the immediate priority following the derailment near Lewes will be ensuring passengers can leave the train safely.

Wilcock, Industry Editor at Rail Magazine, told BBC News that emergency services would focus first on passenger welfare and securing the scene.

"The emergency services will be monitoring the situation in terms of safety for passengers and making sure that the line is safe for them to exit to a point of safety," he said.

He added that the RAIB will be sending a team to the scene, which it has since confirmed.

Wilcock also noted the 14:24 Southern service from London Victoria to Eastbourne may have been busier than usual because of the summer holidays.

Katy Austin
Transport correspondent

Photos showing what appears to be buckled track will prompt questions over whether that was a factor in this derailment.

It is known that rails can buckle in extremely high temperatures. Network Rail says the steel tracks can get 20 degrees hotter than the air temperature and this can lead to them starting to curve.

Speed restrictions are one method that can be used as a precaution if there’s thought to be a risk of rails expanding.

However, right now we can’t know for sure if the shape of the rails in the photo was a factor in this incident, or perhaps caused by it.

It appears that the back three have carriages derailed, with the front carriages remaining upright.

Specialist investigators will look into exactly what has happened and why.

Aerial shots from the scene in East Sussex show the rear three carriages of the train left the tracks.

The affected service was the 14:24 Southern train from London Victoria to Eastbourne, which the BBC understands left the tracks in the Landport area of Lewes.

Verified image shows buckled tracks and passengers on top of derailed trainpublished at 18:06 BST

18:06 BST

By Richard Irvine-Brown

BBC Verify has confirmed that a picture of people standing on top of an overturned carriage was taken just north of Lewes station.

The image shows what appears to be a buckled track and at least four people standing on it.

We’ve checked features seen in the image - like the treeline off to the left of the shot - and can say the incident happened between Landport Road and the River Ouse about a mile north of the town’s railway station.

Image source, Jeremy Veitch