Train station 'significantly damaged' after fire

A railway station could remain closed for some time after a major fire caused severe damage to the historic building, train bosses say.

The fire happened in Paignton, Devon, on Tuesday and led to the arrest of three boys on suspicion of arson.

Services are unable to run on the line beyond Torquay and Great Western Railway (GWR) said engineers were still assessing the extent of the damage before trains could safely return to the station.

GWR spokesperson Dan Panes described the incident as "a pretty serious fire" and said the station building had been "significantly damaged".

Panes said the fire service had removed part of the roof while tackling the flames and further checks were needed to determine whether the structure was safe.

The railway operator said a full branch line service had resumed between Newton Abbot and Torquay while rail replacement buses continued to run between Torquay and Paignton.

Panes said it had been "horrible" to see the damage caused to the station.

"Anybody looking at the pictures afterwards will have just seen how devastating that fire was," he said.

He added the timing was particularly difficult as schools were breaking up for the summer holidays and thousands of visitors would usually pass through the station on their way to the English Riviera.

Panes said GWR's priority was to reopen the station as quickly as possible, but he could not give a timescale because safety inspections were still under way.

"What I will say is that we just want to get those services back up and running," he said.

"We want people to be using that station again and we'll be doing that as quickly and as safely as we can."

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.