TROUBLE ON THE LINE
The scourge of vandalism blights many parts of Britain with numerous targets that can be seen in just about every town and city. It’s a problem that we here at Heritage R ailway have been monitoring for well over a year.
In recent weeks however, the menace of those who set out to destroy the inheritance of the nation have been hitting hard.
One of the worst examples – although not necessarily the most in terms of cash value – has been the damage to a Mk.1 coach parked in a siding at Bishop’s Lydeard on the West Somerset Railway on Monday, April 29. The damage of broken glass from three large windows being smashed and the destruction of doors is estimated to have cost the railway, still reeling from earlier problems, to have to find an estimated £1000 to replace and repair.
Fortunately, this was one incident that members of the public were not going to turn a blind eye to, with one witness reporting the 9pm attack to the railway who immediately passed the information on to the police. WSR general manager Paul Conibeare attended the scene and Avon and Somerset Police issued a crime number – 5219 093628 – and appealed for anyone with information to call the force via the 101 telephone number.
Vandalism is habitually referred to as ‘mindless’ – yet this instance saw a particularly ‘brain dead’ example of behaviour: not only did the culprit(s) record the vandalism on video as the windows were being smashed with a sledgehammer, but posted the footage on social media, via Snapchat. Needless to say, railway officials downloaded it and immediately sent it on to police.
“This sad, senseless and costly attack on us is bad news, especially coming at a time when we are all working hard to build the railway back up,” said Paul.
“Suffering £1000 worth of damage represents a big loss at any time, but I’d like to thank the member of the Bishop’s Lydeard community who called the railway on the night.”
In the Midlands, Nottinghamshire Police arrested two boys aged 12 and 14 on Wednesday, May 1
