A miniature railway saved from dereliction has won an award.

Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway gained Small Railway of the Year from the Heritage Railway Association.

Owner and managing director Chris Shaw said it was vindication for buying the railway from Cleethorpes Council 13 years ago.

"We have stopped the decline of this railway," he told BBC News Online.

Working museum

"Light railways have all but disappeared around the country, so we have things at this railway from others that have closed.

"It means we are a working museum as well as a leisure attraction."

When Mr Shaw and his team of volunteers took over the railway there were no buildings, five delapidated coaches, one working engine and another "in a thousand pieces".

Now there are 11 engines, 20 coaches and a station at the main resort end of the coast.

Transport links

The track runs for a mile, but the team plans to extend this by one and a quarter miles to take in the holiday camps at the seaside resort.

"We also want to link to other transport partners," said Mr Shaw.

The railway, which carries steam and diesel locomotives, is open every weekend throughout the year and all week from Good Friday until the end of September.