Virgin train blocks trainspotter's view of the Flying Scotsman - he gets US trip as apology

'We feel bad for that photobomb! I hear Atlanta, Georgia has a super busy rail network! Fancy a trip courtesy of Virgin Atlantic?'

An avid trainspotter was waiting to catch a glimpse of the the restored Flying Scotsman to go past through a Lincolnshire village.

As this video shows, a Virgin train service passed him at the exact same time obscuring the "most famous train in the world" from view.

Ryan Allen, a leakage technician for Anglian Water, had found himself a perch in Little Bytham so he could video the Flying Scotsman - but ended up capturing the commuter train.

He posted the video on Twitter alongside the caption: "I had a feeling this would happen."

Virgin responded to him saying: "We feel bad for that photobomb! I hear Atlanta, Georgia has a super busy rail network! Fancy a trip courtesy of Virgin Atlantic?"

Mr Allen told the Evening Standard he's "over the moon" and will take his partner of 18 years with him on the trip.

He said: "When people were tweeting about the tickets I thought it was a wind-up.

"I sent it to my mates on Facebook and they thought it was funny, so I posted it on Twitter.

"My phone has been vibrating that much with retweet notifications I had to turn it off as I was at work."

Virgin Train's Richard Salkeld said: "We thought it was a nice thing to do because he was obviously very disappointed.

"We're informed that train spotting is in the top 20 of things to do in Atlanta.

"There are 5000 miles of track, so it seemed like the obvious destination to offer to Ryan."

Flying Scotsman soon became the star of the British railway system after being built in 1923 (AFP/Getty Images)

The Flying Scotsman was the first steam engine to reach over 100mph in 1934.

Retired from service in 1963, the Flying Scotsman was returned to the tracks in January after a decade-long restoration project costing £4.2 million.