Warwick's MP has welcomed news of the Government's U-turn on plans to axe railway station ticket offices across the country.

Transport secretary, Mark Harper, on Tuesday (October 31) said the government had "asked train operators to withdraw their proposals" which would have seen hundreds of offices shut nationwide.

MP for Warwick and Leamington Matt Western had launched a petition against the idea when it was first revealed in July.

He had also spoken about the proposal and the impact it would have on passengers at Leamington, Warwick and Warwick Parkway stations.

The public consultations on the proposal, run by Transport Focus and London TravelWatch, received around 750,000 responses, with 99 per cent of them being objections. 

On the news, Mr Western said: "This is a real victory for our local, community-led campaign against these flawed plans from the Government and I am relieved they have finally heard the strength of feeling from the public.  

"The over 1,100 local residents who signed my petition demonstrated the huge local opposition to these proposals and how valued our brilliant ticket office staff are at Warwick, Leamington and Warwick Parkway.  

"The closure of ticket offices would have significantly impacted upon passengers' experience and left many rail users without the support they need. These issues were clear from the beginning, and it should not have taken massive public opposition for the Government to see this. 

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"However, I'm really proud of our victory on this campaign and thank all residents for their support in making sure our voices were heard."