[Steve]

VOLUNTEERS who persuaded the public to give them another £75,000 to avert a financial crisis and keep their privately-run railway operating through the summer, have had thousands of pounds wasted by the second graffiti attack in seven days.
Carriages on the Wensleydale Railway were checked late on Friday night but by Saturday morning they had suffered more damage which will take thousands of pounds to clean off.
The graffiti covering eight carriages was discovered when staff arrived at Leeming Bar station at 8am on Saturday, but frantic work enabled the first train to leave at 10.30am with at least its windows clean.
The Wensleydale Railway, which needs every penny to run trains to the East Coast Main Line at Northallerton, suffered two graffiti attacks on carriages in August but the latest incidents have left its directors, staff and volunteers determined to catch the vandals.
Director Ruth Annison said: "We are making a strong appeal to the public to help us to track down and find whoever is doing it. Cleaning off the graffiti is costing us many thousands of pounds."
People who paint graffiti often record their vandalism and Mrs Annison is asking for anyone who sees people photographing the trains to contact the Wensleydale Railway or police with registration details of vehicles.
Volunteer John Boothroyd, of Leeming, was appalled by the latest attack. He said: "I have been working on the railway for nine years and have spent literally hundreds of hours on cleaning work and getting the trains up and running.
"To see this graffiti is absolutely soul destroying. It must take the culprits hours to do it and they must spend a fortune on aerosol paints.
"All our work is now just a total mess. You are talking about weeks and weeks of work to put the carriages back in the condition they were in before the attack."
Although it is privately run, the Wensleydale Railway comes under British Transport Police, who sent officers from Leeds after the previous attack.
They recognised some of the 'tags' as belonging to vandals operating in the Leeds area.
Mr Boothroyd said: "They found one message saying: 'Free Cona'. He is supposed to be in Armley Prison.
"The Transport Police also found a lot of aerosol cans dumped near the A1 flyover."
After the previous weekend's graffiti attack passengers arriving at Leeming Bar station, just off the A1, near Bedale, were so disgusted that they helped railway staff and volunteers to begin cleaning the trains.
Saturday's attack hit five operational carriages plus others in use as a static buffet, shop and information centre at Leeming Bar.
Mrs Annison said: "What is amazing is the number of people who have turned up to help with the cleaning."
In addition to its normal service from Leeming Bar through Bedale and Leyburn to Redmire, Santa specials continue each weekend until Christmas Eve.