A YOUNG couple had to be rescued by firefighters after they were locked inside a train station at night.

Jason Tyhurst, 19, from Reedyford Road, Nelson, and his 18-year-old girlfriend Sophie McNeilly, had been to see Blackpool Illuminations when they caught the last train back, at 10.10pm, to Nelson, changing at Preston.

But strong winds and leaves on the line delayed services on Friday night and their train didn't arrive at Nelson rail interchange until after midnight.

By that time, staff had locked up the £4.5million complex, and the couple were left shivering on the platform.

Jason, a lifeguard at Pendle Wavelengths, said: “I tried the two exits, but both doors were locked. The batteries on both our mobile phones were dead so I had to climb up a railing and start shouting for help.

"Sophie was getting really upset. She was freezing and terrified, the lights were going out and I started to think we could be stuck there until the next morning.

“It took 30 minutes of me shouting for someone to respond and they rang 999.

“It was a really upsetting experience.”

Fire crews came to the rescue after more than an hour, using ladders to help the couple safely down to the road.

They got a lift home with police officers and finally got in at 1.50pm.

Nigel Greenwood, crew manager at Nelson Fire Station, said: “It was pretty cold, and they had been up there for a while. Thankfully the girl had jeans rather than a skirt on, but the poor lass was freezing.

“This has highlighted an issue that needs to be looked at.”

Bosses at the interchange apologised to the couple and said the rail operator failed to notify them the last train was running late.

John Threlfall, Lancashire United’s business manager said: "We offer our sympathies to the passengers involved. It must have been very frustrating and worrying for them."