Severn Valley Railway to run diesel trains only to reduce risk of fires

Steam trains are being kept in their engine sheds at the Severn Valley Railway until further notice - after a fire broke out near the tracks at Bewdley.

Bosses say the move's designed to reduce the risk of further lineside fires during the current spell of dry weather.

Diesel locomotives will haul services instead.

In a statement, bosses at SVR said: "Due to the continuing period of exceptionally hot and dry weather and with little rainfall forecast, we have suspended all steam-hauled operations until further notice.

"Heritage diesel locomotives will haul all passenger services, allowing the railway to continue operating while significantly reducing the risk of lineside fires.

"We hope our visitors will understand why we've taken this step. We're extremely fortunate to have a superb fleet of heritage diesel locomotives that enables us to continue operating services. Without them, we could have found ourselves in the position of having to suspend passenger services altogether.

"We'll continue to keep the situation under constant review and look forward to welcoming our steam locomotives back once weather conditions allow."