Tram system stopped by vandalism

The line was closed between Bury and Victoria

Vandalism closed part of Manchester's tram system for almost 24 hours.

Metrolink's Bury to Manchester Victoria line was out of action from Friday evening until Saturday afternoon after cabling was cut, close to Crumpsall.

Greater Manchester Police are investigating the deliberate damage to the signalling cable and fibre-optic communications cable.

Engineers worked through the night to get the trams back on line. The services resumed at about 1530 GMT.

No replacement buses were put in operation, because the route was well-served by current services, a Metrolink spokeswoman said.

Kevin Thomas, of Serco Metrolink, said: "We discovered 25m of signalling cable and fibre-optic communications cable was cut, which resulted in signalling and communications failure."