Hospice charity 'disappointed' after its miniature railway targeted by vandals

A charity which operates the UK's most northerly public miniature railway says it is considering installing CCTV after repeated vandalism.

The Ness Islands miniature railway in Whin Park, Inverness, has had its track and points system damaged.

Highland Hospice, which has operated the attraction since 2019, said it was "disappointed" it had been targeted twice in a short period of time.

All profits from the railway go to the charity, which provides palliative and end of life care to patients across the region.

The miniature railway has been a popular attraction for local and visiting families in many years.

Having been first established in 1983, the trains run half a mile through the park by the River Ness. It is named after the adjacent Ness Islands in the river.

Recently there have been repeated instances of vandalism to the site, which is looked after by volunteers, most recently the points system was damaged and had to be replaced.

This is not the first time the attraction has been targeted. In 2019, the route of the train had to be diverted after the Victorian Footbridge it goes over sustained significant damage.

Andrew Leaver, from Highland Hospice said: "The young people came across and started stamping on all the timbers, broke up the timbers and we had to re-route the train"

He said on other occasions tracks had been "ripped up" for "no apparent reason".

Leaver added: "I just think its a real shame that people don't have something better to do.

"Maybe we should be trying to find things that give people more creativity and more opportunity to enjoy themselves."