Train station 'worst' for anti-social behaviour
BBCA train station repeatedly targeted by vandals has been labelled "the worst" in an area for anti-social behaviour by a rail manager.
Acts of vandalism at Maryport station in west Cumbria include grafitti, fires, damage to seating and flower planters.
One person was prosecuted after being caught on CCTV smashing glass in a platform shelters.
Northern Rail's area station manager for Cumbria and the Lakes line, Jane Murray, said the station was a "regular" target and she hoped prosecutions would serve as a deterrent.
She said local residents were "quiet frightened" to report the incidents.
She also said the company had "no choice" but to remove some seating because screws had been repeatedly removed.
"We were concerned about vandals taking them out and actually throwing them onto the track because that could cause a derailment."
Murray said she visited schools with the British Transport Police and Network Rail to discuss safety and had introduced a classical musical trial, but this was no longer effective.
Murray said she believed the 11-year-old, who was caught on CCTV, was "bored" when they targeted the station.
She also said it was "heartbreaking" that all the planters, which were "tirelessly" prepared by volunteers, had been "smashed".
"The bins that were inside the shelters, they either set fire to them or they ripped them and put all the rubbish all over the floor," she said.
