A female commuter was thrown on to railway tracks this morning after telling two young men to stop smoking on a station platform.

Linda Buchanan, 58, who suffered bruising and a fractured wrist, was taken to hospital after the incident, which happened at Farningham Road station in Kent during this morning’s rush hour. Police said she had been lucky to escape without fatal injuries as she fell close to a live rail.

“I’m just thinking at the end of the day I am lucky to be alive,” she told Sky News. “It could have been a lot worse than it has been. I’m just shocked by the whole experience.”

The men who pushed her, said to be in their early to mid-twenties, had this week been asked by Ms Buchanan to stop smoking on the platform, where it is banned. Today's attack took place after they recognised her from the earlier confrontation. Fellow commuters rushed to her aid after she fell on to the tracks and dragged her to safety.

“It would appear the woman had spoken to the men about smoking earlier this week,” said Detective Inspector Bob Richardson, of British Transport Police. “This morning when she was at the station, she was walking past the same men when one of them pushed her and she fell onto the track.”

Detective Inspector Richardson said Ms Buchanan's injuries could have been much more serious.

“The third rail carries 750 volts of electricity and she could have been electrocuted or even struck by an early morning train,” he said.

British Transport Police are studying CCTV footage of the incident and were said to be following up a number of leads.

One of the men was described as white, in his mid-twenties, about 6ft tall, with a stocky build. He had short cropped brown hair, was wearing beige shorts, a green round-necked T-shirt and trainers.

The second man was white, in his early twenties, with a medium build, bright red shorts and a dark top.

“We are appalled by this incident and hope the perpetrators are quickly identified," a South Eastern trains spokesman said.

Services between Kent and London were disrupted because the power temporarily had to be turned off.

Smoking was banned on England’s 1,900 railway stations last July.

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