A KIDDERMINSTER attraction has launched an appeal to raise £10,000 to put right historic train carriages damaged by vandals.

The Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust is appealing for donations to help meet the costs of rectifying the attacks carried out over the festive break.

Workers arrived at SVR early on Boxing Day and were shocked to find spray paint covering the sides of two carriages.

But they have been cheered by support from volunteers and the public who immediately rallied round to help with donations. They now hope this will continue.

General Manager Nick Ralls said: “This was not what we expected to come back to after our Christmas Day closure.

“It’s heart-breaking to think that in just a few minutes the people who carried out this attack have caused hundreds of hours of extra work for our volunteers and staff.

“However, we’ve dealt with worse before, such as the devastating floods of 2007, and we’ll deal with this too.”

Work has begun on the first affected carriage – 2701, a teak-bodied vehicle – which is currently in the paint shop at Kidderminster where it will remain for a month.

Supervisor Hugh McQuade said: “Our first task was to remove the spray paint by sanding down to the varnish.

“Fortunately, the layer of soot acquired during the carriage’s service in December, has acted as a protective layer, stopping the cellulose-based spray paint from reacting with the varnish and our own white spirit-based painted lining and gold leaf lettering.

“We’ll need to touch up the lettering and lining in a number of places, but the main job now is to prepare the undamaged remainder and apply several coats of new varnish to the entire side of the carriage.

“I’ve been humbled by the response of volunteers to this setback, and I have a willing and able team who are more than capable of tackling the job.

“The main problem is that we won’t be able to carry out the planned essential work on other carriages, and this will set us back several months in our schedule. The knock-on effects of it all will be felt for a long time to come.”

Remedial work on the other vandalised carriage, No 1146, will begin in February and is likely to take a month to complete.

Charitable Trust director Shelagh Paterson said: “As soon as the news of the attack broke, we started receiving offers of help from people who were clearly as shocked as we are.

“On the first day alone, nearly £1,000 was donated online. We very much hope that this generous support will continue to help us meet the total cost of £10,000 to get these important carriages back into service as soon as possible.”

Donations can be made online at www.svrtrust.org.uk or by phoning 01562 757940.