Reward to help find rail saboteur

Rail bosses are putting up a £25,000 reward to help catch a saboteur who has disrupted passenger services.

Signalling cables have been cut or set alight, causing delays to more than 1,000 trains, with at least 131 of them being cancelled as a result.

Police are linking seven attacks in the West Midlands which have caused about £1m worth of damage.

Officers are looking at the theory that it is a deliberate campaign by someone with knowledge of the rail industry.

Det Supt Mark Newton of the British Transport Police, said they cannot let their guard down.

Areas where attacks have taken place 14 June - Kingsbury 21 June - Kingsbury, Coleshill, Lea Marsden, Kitts Green 25 June - Bickenhill 4 July - Barnt Green 29 July - Kingswinford

He said: "The culprit or culprits are clearly very determined. We need as much help as we can get from the public."

The attacks began on 14 June when cables were damaged at Kingsbury on the outskirts of Birmingham.

A week later, cables were cut or set alight at four separate locations on the same evening, again at Kingsbury, and at Coleshill, Lea Marsden and Kitts Green, affecting services between Birmingham, Derby and Leicester.

The line was hit again on June 25 at Bickenhill near Birmingham International station and on 4 July, signalling equipment was set alight at Barnt Green station in Worcester.

An arson attack on equipment at Kingswinford near Dudley in the early hours of 29 July, on a freight line, is also being investigated.

Network Rail, who look after the country's train lines, have put up the £25,000 reward - but insist the attacks have not caused any danger to the public.

The rail network has an automatic system that turns signals red if any circuits are broken and this stops all trains.

The attacks have taken place near locked gates to the track which give access to maintenance workers.

In some cases, cables are understood to have been removed from line side boxes and severed before being replaced which makes it difficult for engineers to locate the fault.