Railway appeal reaches £400,000

The line was hit by landslides in several places

An appeal to raise money for the flood-hit Severn Valley Railway has now reached £415,000 from public donations.

The 16-mile line which runs between Shropshire and Worcestershire was damaged in more than 40 places during torrential rain falls in the summer.

Currently, only a section of the track between Kidderminster and Bewdley is able to operate.

Railway bosses have thanked everyone who has contributed but warned the estimate for full repairs is £2.5m.

A spokesman said they had a lot of support from the European Regional Development Fund and Advantage West Midlands but there was still likely to be a significant gap.