ONE of the district’s most popular tourist attractions is being blighted by vandalism, abusive behaviour and trespassing, it has emerged.

Some of the incidents at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway have been branded “horrendous.”

Representatives from the picturesque heritage railway, which runs between Keighley and Oxenhope, delivered the update at the latest meeting of the Keighley Public Transport Watch group.

Michael Tarran, one of the directors of the railway, said anti-social behaviour was blighting the forecourt of Haworth Railway Station between 5pm and 10pm. He said this spot had become a meeting point for youths during evenings.

In his report to the meeting, he said: “Three windows have been broken on separate occasions, and litter is left strewn on the steps and the station forecourt. When youths have been requested to tidy up their mess at times they have become really abusive, and on one occasion they activated the burglar alarm by crashing the doors.”

Mr Tarran said the issue of trespassing on the railway, previously raised in September of this year, had recently resurfaced. He said: “A whole family was found trespassing on the line between the Ebor Lane Nature Reserve and Haworth Station.

“When questioned, they stated that a sign said ‘footpath to Haworth Station’.

“Since this incident, the area has been checked and there are two clear signs warning people not to trespass on the line with no access to Haworth Station through the reserve.

“The sign on Ebor Lane entrance gate says ‘No through path to Haworth Railway Station’.

Speaking after the meeting, he said the trespassing family had included a man and a woman and two young children. He said: “The children had obviously been lifted over the fence to get onto the track.”

Mr Tarran said the rowdy behaviour outside Haworth Station meant precious time was being wasted on tidying up its aftermath.

“It’s just horrendous at times,” he said.

KPTW chairman Michael Westerman, who is a Keighley town councillor, said the situation outside Haworth Station was getting out of hand and needed to be addressed. He said the new police inspector for Keighley was now aware of this problem, and would be speaking to officers about it.

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