BURGLARS have dealt a cruel blow to plans to restart a cash-stricken heritage railway by raiding its main station.

Although the thieves escaped almost empty-handed, they damaged original features at Stanhope station, part of the Weardale Railway, in County Durham.

The only item missing was a night safe, which was ripped from the wall of the station's ticket office.

The safe has remained empty since the station, along with the rest of the railway, stopped operating services in January.

The raiders tore open filing cabinets and took keys from the ticket office, which they used to open the doors of the station cafe. But nothing was taken from here.

A door to the ground floor of the portable offices next to the station was also damaged in the raid, which took place either on Wednesday night or the early hours of Thursday.

Stanhope station has been manned on some weekdays and at weekends by volunteers ever since Weardale Railways Limited went into voluntary administration at the start of the year with debts of nearly £1m.

There are two other stations on the five-mile stretch of track, which reopened in July last year, at Wolsingham and Frosterley.

Kevin Hillary, acting chairman of the Weardale Railway Trust, which leases the ticket office and other parts of the station from Wear Valley District Council, last night said of the break-in: "It is particularly annoying, because the thieves damaged some of the original office doors at the station, which is more than 100 years old."

Mr Hillary said the trust, which has been a major financial backer in moves to set up a new company to run the railway, would now be looking at improving security at the station

A Durham Police spokesman confirmed that the only item taken was the empty night safe, which was worth about £200.