AN 82-YEAR-old train buff is amongst those donating money to help save the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

Lifelong steam locomotive enthusiast John Graham gave £100 as soon as he heard that the heritage railway needed cash to survive the coronavirus crisis.

He hopes others will follow his lead to help the K&WVR raise the £200,000 it needs to ensure its survival as a leading West Yorkshire visitor attraction.

John, who lives in Oakworth, became a trainspotter as a child during the glory days of steam and has remained an enthusiast throughout his life.

He was born in Stanbury but moved to Leicestershire for work in 1960 with wife Brenda, spending more than four decades as an engineer and spending many happy days travelling on the county's Great Central Railway, the UK's only double-track heritage line.

On returning north in 2003 he was able to travel more regularly on his home railway.

He said: "The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway is very important. It brings tourists into the area. I've travelled on the trains on my life.

"I'm very much a steam enthusiast. I was a trainspotter in the 1950s which were wonderful days for the railways, and I'm a railway modeller.

Visit kwvr.co.uk/worth-saving or call 01535 645214 for information on how to donate or raise funds for the railway's Worth Saving appeal.