Song in aid of flood-hit railway

The band are releasing the song later this month

A band has written a song to help raise money to repair the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) tourist attraction after it was devastated by flooding.

Highway Dave and The Varmints, from Stourbridge in the West Midlands, will donate all profits from Ride the Lion.

A train called the Stourbridge Lion was made in the area in the 19th Century.

The band said it appreciates the importance to the area of the railway. It is expected to cost at least £2.5m to fully restore the SVR.

Three-quarters of the 16-mile line has been closed since mid-June.

Damage caused by June's landslide at the Severn Valley Railway

Daily steam-hauled services have continued on the unaffected southern section of the railway between Kidderminster and Bewdley, Worcestershire.

But the remaining section from Bewdley to Bridgnorth, Shropshire, has been closed.

Dave Vale, aka Highway Dave, met co-writer Mick South on their first day at grammar school in 1968.

They lost touch for 20 years before meeting up again through Friends Reunited and discovering their musical tastes had changed similarly "from Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones to country music".

The Stourbridge Lion has been credited with becoming the first locomotive to run in the United States, after engineer Horatio Allen came to the UK to order a train and chose a manufacturer in the West Midlands.

The song will be available through the band's website from 27 August.