Devon's least used station 'needs more trains'

Car delivery driver Paul Reynolds from London was a first-time visitor to the station after delivering a vehicle to Devon

Tucked away up a dirt track off the A377 between Exeter and Barnstaple lies something unexpected - Devon's least used train station.

Passengers board or leave trains at Chapelton in North Devon only 186 times a year, according to the latest figures from the Office of Road and Rail.

The station, on the Tarka Line, between Umberleigh and Barnstaple, is a request stop for trains heading to Barnstaple or Exeter, with one train calling in the morning and a second in the late afternoon.

It is the seventh least used station in the country but Simon Lewis, who lives in the former station house, said that was due to a lack of trains.

Simon Lewis lives in the former Station House and helps to maintain the station

Mr Lewis lives said he loved the station and helped with the upkeep of the platforms.

"When I was a young boy I used to come fishing near here so I'm quite sentimentally attached to the station," he said.

"I love Chapelton more and more as the years go by, but I do get slightly annoyed as it's famous for being the least used station.

The reason is because so few trains stop here. It's almost an unusable service. It works for me but for anyone else it's quite difficult to use."

On the day BBC South West visited Chapelton station one passenger did arrive to board a train.

Paul Reynolds, a car delivery driver from Wembley in North London, was dropped at the remote station after delivering a vehicle.

He said he had no idea he was now one of the rare users of Chapelton station.

"I feel quite proud now I know about it," he said. "I couldn't believe there was a train station down here. It just looks like a dirt car park and you wouldn't notice it if it wasn't for the sign".