METAL thieves prevented one of the country's most iconic steam engines appearing on a heritage railway line.

Hundreds of fans visited the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) on Thursday to see Tornado in action as part of celebrations for the 175th anniversary of the railway line.

However, thefts of cable on the line between Northallerton and Middlesbrough meant that the Darlington-built engine was unable to make it to the line in time.

The NYMR has apologised for the delay and said Tornado will be in action on the line, as planned, this weekend.

Phil Bustard, the marketing manager for the railway said by the time Tornado made it Grosmont there was not enough time to complete essential paperwork to allow the engine to pull trains on the line.

He said: "It's really disappointing. We don't like our reputation to be adversely affected. We can understand if it's mechanical failure but when it's just casual vandalism it's not clever and very frustrating."

Tornado was built from scratch by a team of volunteers in Darlington in a project which lasted nearly 20 years.

Mark Allatt, the chairman of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, the charity which runs the engine, said: "The amount of copper thefts is dreadful.

"Not only is it a nuisance but it's also really dangerous."

Richard Lungmuss, route director for Network Rail, said: "This serves as a very clear example of the disruption and cost caused by thieves attacking our essential rail systems. "As well as the hundreds of people who were looking forward to seeing Tornado, regular rail travellers and freight services have been delayed and inconvenienced."

Tornado is booked to work trains daily from today to Wednesday (June1), and again Saturday and Sunday, June 4 and 5, including two 'pie and pea' evening excursions on Monday and Tuesday along the Esk Valley Line from Grosmont to Battersby on which seats are still available.