Great Central Railway vandalism causes thousands of pounds of damage

Vandalism causing an estimated £80,000 of damage has been carried out at a historic railway site.

More than 100 railway carriage windows were smashed at the Great Central Railway Heritage Centre in Ruddington on Monday.

Two boys aged 14 and 12 have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and have been released on bail, Nottinghamshire Police said.

Officers are continuing to investigate and are appealing for more witnesses.

Great Central Railway opened in 1899 and linked Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester and Rugby to London, but closed for good in 1966.

A section from Leicester to Loughborough was saved by a group of enthusiasts, and in 1976 Great Central Railway PLC was formed and began running trains from this section of the track.

The railway is looking for help from fundraisers to cover the cost of repairing the damage.

Phil Stanway, one of the railway's directors, said they have had several "minor incidents" in recent months, but said problems with vandalism "have been getting worse and worse".

"I feel sorry for the volunteers who have put so much time, effort and money in to restoring them," he said.

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