Vandals strike again at Great Central Railway in Ruddington

A heritage railway has been targeted by vandals just three months after £80,000 worth of damage was caused.

Directors of the Great Central Railway Heritage Centre in Nottinghamshire said they were "devastated" windows had been smashed on five carriages between Monday and Thursday.

Two boys were arrested when more than 100 railway carriage windows were smashed at the Ruddington site in May.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the latest attack.

Nottinghamshire Police said the vandalism happened at some point between 16:00 BST on 5 August and 09:00 on 8 August.

The Great Central Railway, which originally opened at 1899, connected Leicester, Manchester, Nottingham, Rugby and Sheffield to London.

After it closed in 1966, a section from Leicester to Loughborough was saved by enthusiasts, and 10 years later Great Central Railway PLC formed to run trains from this section of the track.

Mike Fairburn, director of the volunteer-run railway, said repairing the windows would be "expensive and complicated", adding it would have to close over the weekend.

"You can't just go to the shop and buy spare parts, we have to have windows cut and made specially, or we have to salvage them from old vehicles," he said.

Mr Fairburn said the railway was working on new security measures, such as full CCTV coverage and new fences, to deter intruders and track any further offenders.

"It's very frustrating and demoralising," he said.

"Instead of working on projects to take this leisure facility forward, we're having to do repairs and tidy up mess left by selfish, undisciplined people."

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