These crabs were spotted attempting to board a train as they crawled along the platform at Gateshead Metro Station.

A Metro spokesman said: “The cleaner removed the crabs from the platform at Gateshead Metro station after a passenger dropped them when a their carrier bag appears to have split open”.

Cleaners picked the crabs up, and the four that survived have been taken to the Blue Reef aquarium in Tynemouth, presumably to live out the rest of their lives there, rather than ending up as somebody’s dinner. “Whatever has happened, it was a uneven sight to see”.

The reaction online varied from jokes on the incident to an outcry in the way the staff member just kicks them off the train. “I can’t imagine many crabs would have survived, the next train would have squashed significance “.

The crabs reportedly escaped from a passenger’s bag after it split. A Metro spokesman added: “This wasn’t an everyday occurrence and our staff acted quickly to remove the crabs from the train and platform”.