Carmarthenshire: Fire damage at Gwili Steam Railway

A large fire which broke out at a heritage railway has caused tens of thousands of pounds of machinery damage.

Fire crews from Carmarthen and Kidwelly attended Gwili Steam Railway in Bronwydd Arms, Carmarthenshire, on Wednesday afternoon.

The fire broke out in an engine shed.

The visitor attraction has confirmed that nobody was hurt, but that locomotive repairs have been halted and "extensive" damage caused to equipment.

Jeremy John, business administrator at Gwili Steam Railway, said: "A member of staff could see there was a fire, but it was empty at the time.

"We alerted the fire service and they promptly attended and put it out. Now we're just left to clean up the mess."

Mr John said the railway's team of five staff and about 70 volunteers will be "slaving away" to get the attraction back on track.

"This is where we repair the locomotives, and service them, so that is halted for a while but I am sure we will be back up and running as soon as possible," he said.

Mr John added that the fire caused "quite extensive " damage to machinery and tools. While the total cost is yet to be determined, he said it "could well be" £100,000.

He said: "That's the beauty of insurance. We are not going to be put off by this. Nobody was hurt.

"It's just another thing to cope with, but we have to be resilient in business, there is no point in sulking. You've got to be positive, you've got to move on."

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze was extinguished using two hose reel water jets and eights sets of breathing apparatus.

The incident was declared over just before 18:00 GMT and is being treated as accidental, but the extent of the damage is unclear.

The railway is currently closed to visitors for the winter, with its new station at Abergwili Junction opening in April.