THOUSANDS of people have dug deep to support Wyre Forest's beloved heritage attraction, the Severn Valley Railway, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown.

The SVR launched an emergency appeal in March to help keep the railway ticking over on a care and maintenance basis during the enforced closure.

A rush of donations and share purchases meant that the railway quickly passed its original target of £250,000.

Now, the SVR has secured a further £400,000 to help mitigate the significant loss in income it is experiencing.

General manager Helen Smith said: “We have been truly humbled to see how much people care about the railway, and how determined they are to make sure we survive.

"Some of the messages that people have sent with their donations talk about their hopes for the future and how they’re looking forward to travelling with us again as soon as possible.

"We are immensely grateful to everyone who has got behind us to help.

“However, there’s no escaping the fact that we face a huge challenge to get the railway through this crisis.

"It’s not clear when we’ll be able to reopen, or the nature of social distancing restrictions that will be needed to operate safely.

"We’ve already suffered a huge loss in income from tickets and secondary spend, and don’t know how long this will continue."

In an average year, the SVR makes around £4.5m of investments back into the railway, paid for out of visitor revenue.

"Clearly during the current year we will not be able to fund all the work that’s needed," said Helen. "Although we still want to do as much as possible.

"That’s why we’re continuing to fundraise, to secure a viable future for the SVR.”

The SVR ran its last passenger service on March 15 and closed its pubs, cafes and shops. It has also had to cancel a number of events, such as the Spring Steam and Diesel Galas, its popular 1940s weekends, and the celebrations that would have been taking place later this month to mark the 50th anniversary of its public train services.

Donations to the Fight Back Fund can be made at svr.co.uk and the SVR has recently opened an online shop at svrshop.co.uk to raise money.