MORE than 40 passengers escaped serious injury after teenage vandals placed chunks of wood on a miniature railway track.

The yobs threw timber and a large piece of plywood on to the track at the Littlehampton Miniature Railway at Mewsbrook Park.

The train, which has five carriages, was full of people when it careered into the wood as it rounded a bend.

A huge piece of wood speared the rear carriage of the train and missed parents and children by inches.

The back end of the two-tonne train, which was in reverse at the time, ran off the track and passengers in other carriages were jolted during the half-mile ride.

Police say vandals had ripped the wood from ramps at a skateboard rink on the seafront and put it on the track.

The train is now out of action until repairs are carried out. More than £500 worth of damage was caused.

The service is run by husband and wife team Colin and Barbara Evans, who are appalled by the vandalism.

Colin, 55, who was driving the train, said: "The people that did this are absolute idiots. There could have been a young mother and a child in that carriage. I just do not understand them at all.

"We will be out of action for a few more days yet, I am not a happy man."

PC Alan Jago, of Littlehampton, said: "This could have been much worse. The train hit the wood on a bend.

"It is lucky nobody was in the back carriage. We are appealing for witnesses."

The railway is a popular tourist attraction in the town and runs from Easter through to the end of the summer holidays. It has been running for at least 50 years.

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