Railway calls further vandalism 'disheartening'

A signal box has been targeted at The Midland Railway - Butterley

The latest instance of vandalism at a heritage railway in Derbyshire has been called "disheartening" by bosses.

Damage was discovered at The Midland Railway - Butterley's Swanwick Junction site when volunteers arrived on Wednesday.

Derbyshire Police is investigating the incident, which saw the demonstration signal box's door kicked in, the site's toilet windows smashed and obscene graffiti daubed on the children's play area.

It follows a major graffiti attack in April, which saw extensive graffiti painted across two 1980s Pacer diesel railbuses and about £5,000 of damage caused.

Despite a clean-up operation, the extent of the latest damage has meant some attractions will remain closed until further notice, says the railway.

It added bosses were focused on the launch of flagship steam locomotive The Jinty - a restoration project 16 years in the making - which occurred at the weekend.

Some parts of the attraction are now closed for repairs

Laura Greaves, marketing and events manager, said: "We were all geared up for The Jinty's launch.

"We have people from all over the country coming and we're having to spend time cleaning up glass, replacing windows, rather than looking forward to something we've been waiting for all these years.

"It's disheartening that this keeps happening."

Toilets were also trashed

A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police told the BBC no arrests had been made, and called for anyone with information about the vandalism to make contact.

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