Graffiti-hit Govia Thameslink train receives a deep clean

The Class 700 Thameslink train was sent to Bedford to be cleaned after being damaged in West Worthing

A train that was put out of action after being covered "top to bottom" in graffiti has been fully cleaned.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) said seven of 12 carriages were sprayed at sidings in West Worthing, West Sussex.

The Class 700 train was sent to a depot in Bedford so the paint could be removed.

A spokesman for GTR said the cleaning cost "a five-figure sum" and took a team of six specialists two shifts to carry it out.

"Fortunately there was no damage to the original paintwork," he said, adding the train was now available for service.

Ben Foley, from the action group Bedford Rail Campaigners, said on Facebook that most of the graffiti had gone, but "above [the] door/window level there are enough signs that this is the train that was plastered a couple of days ago."

The train was repaired at a depot in Bedford after it arrived covered in graffiti on 7 June

No arrests have been made and British Transport Police said it would continue to investigate.

When the vandalism was reported, a GTR spokesman said the train's carriages "were covered top to bottom in graffiti".

The company originally put the cost of the train at £17m, but later stated that price was "exaggerated".