Eurostar has cancelled all trains between London and Paris throughout Friday, after the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb disrupted traffic at Paris’s busy Gare du Nord station.

“An unexploded bomb from the Second World War was discovered near the tracks,” French national railway company TER said.

The bomb was discovered in the middle of the tracks near Paris sat around 4am, prompting disruption which is affecting both local metros and national and international trains.

Click here to follow all the latest updates on Eurostar cancellations and bomb disposal efforts

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Eurostar said in a statement: “Due to the discovery last night of an unexploded bomb from the Second World War during work carried out on the tracks in St Denis (north of Paris), traffic has been completely halted to and from Gare du Nord. As a result, all Eurostar trains are cancelled to and from Paris today.”

Friday is typically an extremely busy day for Eurostar, and trains later in the day are heavily booked.

Gare du Nord is Europe’s busiest rail station and serves 214 million passengers a year, according to Eurostar.

France’s national train operator SNCF said that traffic would be stopped at the Gare du Nord until mid-morning at the request of police. “We invite travellers to postpone their trip,” it said.

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The bomb was discovered “in the middle of the tracks” in the suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis during overnight works on Thursday, with bomb disposal experts working at the scene through the night, Le Parisien newspaper reported SNCF as saying.

It isn’t uncommon for bombs left over from the World Wars to be discovered in France - but to find them in such a people-packed location is rare.

French transport minister Philippe Tabarot told broadcaster Sud Radio that local residents and people near the train stations should have "no fear" of a risk of explosion, stressing the procedures in place for defusing and removing such bombs.

Fabien Villedieu, leader of the SUD rail union shared a picture of the unexploded bomb on social media, which he said weighed 300kg.

While bombs left over from the First and Second World Wars are regularly discovered around France, it is rare for them to be found in such a heavily populated location.

However, train stations were often a target of the Allied forces as they sought to disrupt Germany’s war effort.

Mr Tabarot warned there would be disruption throughout the day at Gare Du Nord. “The ideal would be to be able to restore traffic in a slightly degraded manner from the afternoon,” he is reported to have told Sud Radio.

Eurostar said on its website: “Due to an object on the tracks near Paris Gare du Nord, we are expecting disruption to our services this morning. Please change your journey for a different date of travel.

“You can exchange your ticket for free to travel at a different time or date in the same travel class. This is subject to availability.”

Passenger rights are much weaker in rail travel than they are in air travel, meaning they may not be guaranteed alternative transport as soon as possible, plus meals and hotels as they wait.

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