Graffiti attack causes thousands of pounds worth of damage

Our hard-working volunteers were shocked to find that both of our Pacer diesel trains had been targeted by an overnight graffiti attack at our Lionheart Station, which has caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

The Pacer units which have been damaged have been the focus of extensive restoration and maintenance work – and one of the trains was in the final stages of a complete repaint when the graffiti attack occurred. Our volunteers responded immediately after the initial shock of discovering this mindless vandalism and began a clean-up operation – however the damage to the fresh paintwork means that the surfaces will need to be rubbed down and repainted. In addition to the extra hours of painstaking work, specialist paint and painting equipment will be needed, adding to our costs.

Officers from Northumbria Police have attended the scene and footage from site security cameras is being checked. Anyone with information can contact Northumbria Police via 101 with crime reference 26000413999 or can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org. 

In the meanwhile we have set up a Go Fund Me page to help cover the costs to repair the damage: https://gofund.me/6cc3e674a