Vandals have attacked the Great Central Railway in Leicestershire - the latest in a string of attacks on the tourist attraction this year.

The Great Central station at Loughborough has been attacked more than a dozen times since January, including two attacks in the past two days.

Volunteers at the centre, which runs steam trains on a restored line, say this has been the worst year they have experienced for vandalism.

They say repairing the damage diverts time and money away from keeping the vintage trains running.

The Central Railway will continue to run

In the latest attack doors were ripped off their hinges, lockers broken open and personal belongings taken.

Volunteer Harry Wainwright said: "Any repair work we have to do would be better employed restoring the engines rather than sorting out the results of vandalism."

The railway prides itself on being a unique piece of the county's heritage and a major tourist draw for the area, attracting 150,000 visitors a year.

The attacks come at a particularly bad time as the railway, which costs around �3,500 a day to run, is facing up to losing one of its major benefactors.

Engine driver Fred Franklin said: "It is very distressing when you come in on the morning and find these things have happened.

"It's particularly mindless as often the cost of the repairs is more than the value of what has been taken."