RAILWAY volunteers caught young people on bikes trespassing on the live lines twice in one weekend.

The team that manage and maintain the Swindon and Cricklade Railway has repeatedly warned people not to wander over the tracks because it is both illegal and highly dangerous.

But their calls do not seem to be deterring trespassers, so they have now begun sending information about each incident to the police and pushing for repeat offenders to be prosecuted.

While staff put the final preparations in place ahead of their grand reopening to visitors on Saturday, they saw boys riding their bicycles along the line near Clifford’s Crossing.

Despite giving the group a stern telling off, they saw the boys back again in the same place within a day of the first sighting.

Allan Bott said: “This new approach may seem harsh but we’re fed up of this.

“All money that we try to keep saving to make the railway a more secure place. We also don’t appreciate the tirade of abuse and aggression towards our hard working volunteers."

A new warning on the railway’s Facebook page emphasises the safety message: "The railway can be a dangerous place, it is not abandoned. Trains can run anytime. It’s private property, please do not walk along the tracks at any point.

"If you must cross, then use the farmer’s crossings provided, however these are NOT walking routes. We don’t know how clear we have to be. But we’ll keep shouting about it."

Hundreds of pounds that the team hoped to spend on locomotive renovations and railway improvements often has to be spent on repairing broken gates, fences and signage which have been damaged by trespassers and vandals.

CCTV options are being looked into but new cameras placed inside trees were deliberately smashed by ne’er-do-wells.

An ambitious plan to reconnect the railway to Cricklade is making slow progress because of these regular setbacks.

The railway is allowing guests on-site for the first time since lockdown began on Saturday, with social distancing and hygiene measures in place to keep people safe.

Tickets for train compartments - one compartment per 'bubble' - must be booked in advance at swindon-cricklade-railway.org