Nene Valley Railway says its signal box is ‘out of use’ after arson attack which will ‘impact’ future events

Nene Valley Railway has confirmed its Orton Mere signal box is out of use following a string of suspected arson attacks, which took place across the Ortons, between Sunday and Monday night.

It happened on the same night as a number of cars were destroyed – incidents which police said could all be linked.

Two cars – one in Saltmarsh and another in The Village, Orton Longueville – were destroyed in fires started at about 10.30pm.

A further five cars were then destroyed in a blaze, which started after midnight in Cheyney Court, Orton Malborne.

Nene Valley Railway has said its signal box was also targeted in the attacks.

“Nene Valley Railway are sad to confirm that our signal box at Orton Mere is now out of use following an arson attack on Sunday night,” a spokesperson said.

"This was one of many incidents around the area which included people's cars being torched, and our hearts go out to all those other people affected.

“We have some processes in place to enable our basic running to continue as normal, but the signal box closure will have some impact on a few of our events planned for the year.”

Web fundraising pages to repair the signal box have been set up by Nene Park Academy schoolboys Harry Cowley and Oliver Walker, who are both 12 years old and share a passion for trains.

“The railway and its volunteers and staff work hard to preserve heritage for future generations, and we were heartened to hear that two of our young local supporters have already set up a Go Fund Me page to support the repair work,” Nene Valley Railway said.

You can donate to the Go Fund Me page to support Nene Valley Railway by clicking here and here