Heaton Park heritage tramway reopens after repairs

A heritage tramway that was closed after overhead cables were stolen has reopened.

Manchester's Heaton Park Tramway was shut "indefinitely" in September after copper wiring was taken by thieves.

A fundraising drive raised £5,400 to pay for new cables before Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) stepped in to get the cables replaced for free.

The money raised will be used to fund an extension to the tramway's depot, a spokesman for the organisation said.

A TfGM spokesman said the repairs were a collaboration between the transport executive, Greater Manchester's tram provider Keolis Amey Metrolink and specialist transport engineering firm Pod-Trak.

Keith Whitmore, the chairman of the trust which runs the tramway, said without their help, the future "looked very bleak indeed".

"When our volunteers arrived to see the tramway in such a state following the theft of the wiring, there was doubt that trams would not operate for some time," he said.

"Now everyone wants to just say a big thank you for the massive response to get our tramway moving again."

The tramway, which opened in 1903, has run as a heritage service since 1980.