Bosses at the Severn Valley Railway in Shropshire have installed a new hi-tech security system costing £15,000 following a spate of thefts of copper from its boiler shop and engine shed, it was revealed today.

The shop and shed in Bridgnorth, which also house the heritage railway’s oil store, are now protected by the new system which had to overcome a number of difficulties before it was installed for use at the site.

Georgina Barnard, spokeswoman for the system’s providers, Dudley-based Interface Security Systems Ltd, said: “Although essential to detect unwanted intruders as soon as possible, engines are often moved around and left overnight venting hot steam, water and smoke.

“It was therefore necessary to stop this in-steam situation from creating false alarms whilst still preventing unwanted visitors. Along with permanent staff, there are a large number of volunteer preservationists on-site.

“Their need for cleaning materials often coincided with the hours when the shed and shop should remain alarmed.

“Once again, there needed to be a way to distinguish friend from foe.

“Finally, it would not have been in-keeping with such a heritage site to display modern security equipment around the premises.

“The size and nature of the engine shed and boiler shop made it difficult, time consuming and costly to install cables discreetly in order to protect the character of the building.”

The solution was to split the system into three partitions, a keypad being installed in each building which enabled each area to be set separately.

Mrs Barnard said that in that way the boiler shop and engine shed remained alarmed while volunteers could get their supplies from the oil stores without worry.

Nick Ralls, general manager of Severn Valley Railway, said: “The recent thefts at our Bridgnorth site led us to look at our on-site security and identify that our buildings needed a monitored security system. We are delighted with the performance and versatility of the intruder alarm system.”

By Simon Hardy