A Swindon heritage railway has added extra security measures after suffering a spate of vandalism, trespassing, and criminal damage.

The Swindon and Cricklade Railway is working with Tops Security to protect the historic site, which has been beset by break-ins and bad behaviour.

Arson, graffiti, and trespassing have created safety problems and costly repair bills for the Blunsdon-based team of volunteers.

They are working on an expensive project to extend the current four-kilometre line to Cricklade but the criminal damage inflicted on their vintage vehicles and equipment causes setbacks with their funding.

In June 2021,  a newly restored-wagon was destroyed by a fire, and doors and windows of a nearby carriage were smashed.

In May 2016, a fire destroyed a vintage diesel unit at the Hayes Knoll end of the line, causing more than £100,000 of damage. Then, just a year later, a 58-year-old coach was damaged in another arson attack.

Now, SCR and Tops hope to deter crime by safeguarding all its possessions, buildings, and stored rolling stock through physical and digital state-of-the-art security systems.

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Chair of trustees, Bill Poling, said: “Having experienced so much wanton damage in the past it was decided to set up a small team to investigate how we could best protect the railway, because volunteers were having to spend valuable time making repairs instead of being able to concentrate on other important projects.

"We are so grateful to Tim Fuller from Tops Security for his expert advice and arranging generous support from Banham which has enabled us to afford this professional CCTV system that provides a high level of protection”.

The newly-installed CCTV camera system is monitored 24/7 through an in-house alarm receiving centre which allows for effective police response in the event of any criminal activity being detected.

Mr Fuller, the operations technology manager for Tops Security, added: "We are proud to support the Swindon & Cricklade Railway in securing their heritage site to prevent any further crimes taking place.

"We take pride in providing our local community in Swindon with the highest level of security to protect themselves and their properties.

"We hope that this additional layer of security at Blunsdon Station provides the trustees, volunteers, and visitors with peace of mind that the site is secure and protected so that it can be continued to be enjoyed by all.”