The Severn Valley Railway has reported one of its best results this century for its annual Santa Special trains with all 30,369 seats selling out.

Bosses of the Bridgnorth to Kidderminster heritage line say it is one of the best results in 11 years for its pre-Christmas Santa trains, with the last train due to depart on Saturday.

David Mee, SVR visitor services manager said: “We haven’t hit figures like these any previous Christmas this century.

“It’s usually the case that our first Santa trains in early December are slow to sell and the last ones in the late afternoons generally have a few spare seats.

“But this year every single seat was snapped up – for the last three weeks, we’ve had no tickets left to sell – it’s been amazing.

“The statistics simply reinforce our belief in two things – firstly, when it comes to seeing Santa, nothing can compete with the wonderfully warm, friendly and nostalgic atmosphere of a live steam train to take you there, and secondly, even when the chips are down and family budgets are tightly stretched, people will sacrifice many things – but not their children’s enjoyment at Christmas.”

He said the figures depended on how many Santa special and Santa herald trains ran.

This year the SVR has been able to run seven Santa special services, which have run for about 40 years, and three Santa herald services.

SVR catering manageress Elise Ballard echoed similar thoughts after reporting a total sell out of all tables on the railway’s pre-Christmas luncheon and dining trains, which have a maximum capacity of 143 covers per train.

“There’s no doubt many people are under extreme financial pressure just now – but the Christmas experience is not something that many will compromise,” she said.

On Boxing Day five trains will run in each direction on the line, all calling at Highley for visits to The Engine House Visitor Centre.